^^Wb^U^mJ^- c^L^fec, a^ut(/V 





Central Figure aftet a Pompeian Wall-Painting of Dionysos 

The Enthroned Sun-God and His Twelve Powers 

" Behold, around mine own celestial throne 
Are set twelve others, like a jewelled zone 
Within the Realm that evermore endures." 



THE 

RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

THE HELLENIC FRAGMENTS, FREED FROM THE 
PSEUDO-JEWISH INTERPOLATIONS, HARMONIZED, 
AND DONE INTO ENGLISH VERSE AND PROSE 

WITH INTRODUCTORY ANALYSES, AND COMMENTARIES, 

GIVING AN INTERPRETATION ACCORDING TO 

ANCIENT PHILOSOPHY AND PSYCHOLOGY 

AND A NEW LITERAL TRANSLATION OF THE SYNOPTIC 
GOSPELS, WITH INTRODUCTION AND COMMENTARIES 



BY 

JAMES MORGAN PRYSE 

<7 



<&L\o<ro<fi(i)Tepov kcu airovhoaoTepov 77-0/7707,9 icrroptas i(TTiv 
Poetry is more philosophical and more serious than history 

— Aristotle 

ILLUSTRATIONS DRAWN BY JOHN O'NEILL 



NEW YORK 

JOHN M. PRYSE 

LONDON 

JOHN M. WATKINS 

21, CECIL COURT, CHARING CROSS ROAD, W.C. 

I914 









Copyright, 1914, by ^ 

John M. Pryse, New York 

Copyright, Great Britain 
All rights reserved 



DEC-! 1914 

©CLA388624 



TABLE OF CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Preface vii 

Part First. The Genuine Portions of the New Testament, 
with Introductory Analyses, and Commentaries. 

General Introduction . 3 

Introduction to the Anointing of Iesous 19 

The Anointing of Iesous (Restored from the Synoptic 
Gospels), with Commentary 33 

The Crowning of Jesus (Metrical Version) 152 

Selections from the Fourth Gospel, with Commentary . 239 

Introduction to the Initiation of Ioannes 249 

The Initiation of Ioannes (Prose Version of the Apoca- 
lypse), with Commentary 287 

Initiation (Metrical Version of the Apocalypse) . . . 403 

The Letters of Paulos. Introduction 462 

Letter to the Galatians . 467 

Letter to the Korinthians 469 

Letter to the Thessalonikans 471 

Part Second. The Synoptic Gospels, Translated into Mod- 
ern English, with Comments on the Spurious Portions. 

Introduction 475 

" [The Good Tidings] ] According to Mark 481 

[[The Good Tidings]] According to Matthew .... 568 

[ [The Good Tidings] ] According to Luke 686 

Glossary 813 



LIST OF FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

The Enthroned Sun-God and His Twelve Powers (Colored 

Plate) Frontispiece 

The Seven Principal Ganglia 12 

Constellations of the First Five Disciples 53 

Poseidon in His Chariot . 72 

The Key of the Sacred Science (Colored Plate) . . . facing 249 

The Gnostic Chart Concealed in the Apocalypse 250 

The Cubical City Unfolded 255 

The Light of the Cosmos 295 



ALPHABETICAL LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
IN THE TEXT 



Agnus Dei, 320 
Aphrodite, 309 

Apocalyptic Zodiac, The, 260 
Apollon, 321 

Apollon and Artemis, 324 
Ares, 305 
Artemis, 338 
Athena, 40, JJ, 361 
Cetus, 355 
Crater, 376 
Demeter, 244 

Deukalion and Pyrrha, 37 
Dionysos, 44; Ancient Mystical, 58 
Draco, 350 
Hekate, 102 
Helios, 143, 307 

Hephaistos, Kratos and Bia Chain- 
ing Prometheus, 137 
Hermes, 80, 311, 343 



Hermes and Solar Bird, 141 

Interlaced Triangles, 279 

Kronos, 300 

Medusa, 358 

Oannes, 34 

Phiale, 369 

PloutSn and Persephone, 75 

Plouton Enthroned, 88 

Rhea, 56 

Seal, 319 

Selene, 312 

Seven Cities in Asia, The, 299 

Sickle, 365 

Thyrsos, 145 

Trumpet, 334 

Twelve Signs of the Zodiac, The, 15 

Virgo, 349 

Zeus, 303 

Zeus Enthroned, 89 



PREFACE 

In the work here presented the portions of the New Testament 
which the author holds to be genuine are construed in verse, and are 
interpreted along the lines of ancient philosophy and psychology. 
The work is, therefore, not concerned with theological views or any 
of the creeds, dogmas and doctrines of the many Christian sects. 
For the author, while cherishing the greatest respect for all that is 
pure and noble in the Christian religion and all other religions, is 
not, and never has been, a Christian. In interpreting the New 
Testament from a non-sectarian, and therefore possibly non-Chris- 
tian, point of view, he has tried to avoid offending needlessly those 
who cling to one or another form of Christian faith ; but this inter- 

I pretation differs radically from that offered by the so-called orthodox 
commentators, and in the attempt to restore the admittedly corrupt 
text of the New Testament, more especially that of the Gospels, the 

• author has found it necessary to undermine the foundation upon 
which the structure of dogmatic theology has been reared. Not in 
a controversial spirit, and with no iconoclastic zeal, but simply with 
the purpose of purifying the text of the Gospels and restoring it 
approximately to its primitive form, in order to bring out more 
clearly the beauty and sublimity of the allegory which vitalizes it, 
he had to undertake the uncongenial task of showing, by dissecting 
the text of the Gospels, that the founders of the Christian Church, 
whoever they were, deliberately falsified thj^textjthrqugjiout, and 
thereby committed thejiarkest crime known in the history of litera- 
ture. Freed from the forgeries foisted in the text by these priestly 
criminals, the allegory of the Crucified is Hellenic in form, and 



viii PREFACE 

embodies in its simple majesty the profoundest truths of archaic 
religion; and it is solely for the elucidation of its spiritual meaning 
that the present commentary was written. 

The phrase "New Testament" is retained in the title because it is 
the commonly accepted name of the collection of writings so desig- 
nated; but the claim that the writings set forth a new testament, 
covenant or dispensation, as distinguished from the so-called Mosaic 
dispensation, is rejected by the author as a theological fiction. The 
theory upon which this attempted restoration of the allegory is 
based is that all those portions of the New Testament which may be 
regarded as genuine are, with the exception of a few fragments of 
the Epistles, prose plagiaries from ancient Greek sacred poems, the 
allegorical dramas forming part of the ritual in the Mysteries, and 
that all the passages by which the Iesous-mythos is connected with 
the Old Testament, staged in Judaea, and given a semblance of his- 
toricity, are the work of forgers, who employed stolen notes of the 
Greek Mystery-ritual in fabricating a "sacred" scripture upon which 
to found a new religion. Therefore the author rejects as spurious 
many passages of the Gospels, all of the Acts, and nearly everything 
in the Epistles. There is very little that is of any value in the 
Epistles except a few doctrines stolen from the writings of Philon 
Judaios, the great Jewish philosopher; and the Acts is merely a 
fantastic work of fiction. The Apocalypse is treated as a prose 
version of a Greek Mystery-poem; but the version seems to have 
been made with honest motives by a writer conversant with the 
esoteric meaning of the original, and who presumably gave it a 
superficially Jewish coloring to preserve it from being destroyed by 
the fanatics of the new faith, who were endeavoring to suppress 
everything in ancient literature which betrayed, or tended to prove, 
the fact that the new religion they had invented and instituted was 
founded on a fabricated "history," and was merely a travesty of 



PREFACE ix 

the older religions. In this Restored New Testament the Apoca- 
lypse and the story of Iesous as found in the Synoptic Gospels are 
translated into English verse, the metrical form being more suitable 
than prose for this attempted restoration of the lost original dra- 
matic poems. A prose version of each is given, however, as a basis 
for the commentary. The prose translation of the Apocalypse is 
strictly literal; that of the composite Gospel formed from the 
Synoptics, although a free rendering, follows the Greek text faith- 
fully except in some passages which by their pitiable poverty of ex- 
pression called for expansion, and in others which have been so 
falsified by the ecclesiastical forgers that the meaning of the original 
is now but a matter for conjecture. In the second part of the work 
a literal translation is given of the full text of the Synoptics, with 
comments on the spurious passages only. In restoring the allegory, 
a careful literary analysis of the text of the Synoptic Gospels has 
been made, tracing the peculiar devices and methods of the forgers 
and interpolators, with the purpose of undoing their work as far 
as possible; and the mythico-astronomical system of the ancient 
solar cult, and the mystical sense of the allegory, have been followed 
in replacing the incidents of the mythos in their correct sequence. 

As this work aims to present its subject-matter in popular style, 
unburdened by any material not strictly needed in the interpretation 
of the Iesous-allegory as found in the Gospels and the Apocalypse, 
no attempt is made to sustain the author's conclusions b}^ evidence 
and arguments drawn from comparative religions, from the incau- 
tious admissions made by early Christian writers, or from the 
scholarly works of modern Biblical critics who have demonstrated 
that the Gospels are a literary patchwork, discordant, and not to be 
regarded by any disciplined mind as authentic history. Important 
and interesting as these subjects are, they could not be dealt with 
adequately in the present work without expanding it to too great 



x PREFACE 

bulk, and thereby distracting attention from the central theme which 
it seeks to elucidate, the Iesous-mythos as an allegory of initiation — 
the mystical story of a Man who by his own efforts became a God. 

James Morgan Pryse. 
New York City, October i, 1914. 

TO THE ETERNAL SELF 

A Paraphrase of the "Lord's Prayer" 

Thou Self Divine, whose heavenly throne 
Outshines the sun in visioned splendor, 

O hear me reverently intone 

Thy Name with accent low and tender ; 

And let that Name, thus breathed, set free 

The Power that wafts my soul to thee. 

Let gleaming solar forces weave 

My royal robe of light supernal; 
Triumphant, may I then receive 

The promised crown of life eternal, 
And thus within thy realm regain 
My right with thee fore'er to reign. 

While yet my soul must meekly wear 

Its mortal vesture, dark and lowly, 
Unwearied may I strive with care 

To do on earth thy Will most holy, 
That here below thy boundless love 
Undimmed may shine from heaven above. 

O give me now the power sublime 

To read fair Wisdom's wondrous pages : 

Unhindered then by space and time 

My soul would haste, through fleeting ages, 

With thee among the Gods to dine 

On Wisdom's hallowed bread and wine. 



PART FIRST 

THE GENUINE PORTIONS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT, 

WITH INTRODUCTORY ANALYSES, 

AND COMMENTARIES 



GENERAL INTRODUCTION 

As but few readers may be expected to have even a superficial 
acquaintance with ancient philosophy and various other associated 
subjects which must be understood, to some extent, before the 
allegorical portions of the Nezv Testament can be studied intel- 
ligently and to advantage, a brief sketch will here be given of the 
topics that are pertinent to this interpretation. 

Every thoughtful student of the literature of the ancient religions, 
including that of early Christianity, can not but be impressed by the 
fact that in each and all of them may be found very clear intimations 
of a secret traditional lore, an arcane science, handed down from 
times immemorial. This secret body of knowledge will in this work 
be termed the Gnosis ; the word is here used, however, in a general 
sense, to denote the higher knowledge, and without any special refer- 
ence to, or endorsement of, the Christian Gnosticism of the early cen- 
turies. Each of the great nations of antiquity had an esoteric as well 
as an exoteric religion : the Gnosis was reserved for temple-initiates ; 
while the popular religion was made up of moral precepts, myths, 
allegories and ceremonial observances, which reflected, more or less 
faithfully, the mystic tenets. "All the eastern nations," says Ori- 
genes, "the people of India, the Persians, the Syrians, conceal sacred 
mysteries under their religious myths; the sages and philosophers of 
all religions penetrate the true meaning, while the ignorant see only 
the exterior symbol — the bark that covers it." But this was equally 
true of all the cultured nations of antiquity; and the noblest of the 
philosophers and sages, with but few exceptions, gained their pro- 
founder knowledge through regular initiation at the schools of the 
Mysteries, which in ancient times were the true centres of learning. 
In Greece the Mysteries were established in various forms, and were 
under the direction of the state. The most notable were the Eleu- 
sinia, which were of great antiquity, and continued until the invasion 



4 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

of Alaric the Goth, in the year 396 of the Christian era. During the 
first century the Mysteries were the recognized religion of Greece, 
and were celebrated in every city of that country and in the Greek 
colonies in Asia Minor. The principal centre of the Greater Eleu- 
sinia was the superb temple at Eleusis, near Athens ; while the Lesser 
Eleusinia, at which candidates participated in the purificatory rites 
and were given elementary instruction, preparatory to initiation into 
the Greater Mysteries, had their seat at Agra, on the river Ilissos. 
The Lesser Mysteries were celebrated in February, and the Greater 
in September, annually. The celebration of the Greater Eleusinia, 
which lasted nine days, began in public as a pageant and festival in 
honor of Demeter and Persephone ; but the telestic rites were cele- 
brated in the solemn secrecy of the temple, to which none but ini- 
tiates were admitted. Under Peisistratos the Festival of Demeter 
and Persephone was modified by additions from the Dionysiac and 
Asklepiadic Mysteries. The public ceremonies, however, were evi- 
dently designed merely for the benefit of the unconsecrated multi- 
tude, and presumably had no real connection with the proceedings 
which took place within the temple. Every initiate was bound by 
an oath of inviolable secrecy; hence nothing, of any importance is 
known concerning the initiatory ceremonies. There is good reason 
for believing, however, that in the Eleusinian ritual the zodiacal 
symbolism was employed, and that some of the instruction was 
given in the form of dramatic representations. In fact, the drama 
seems to have originated in the Mysteries. The symbolism of the 
zodiac was really a cryptic language in which certain facts concern- 
ing the inner nature of man were expressed; and it was common to 
the initiates of all ancient religions. There was no concealment of 
the fact that the telestic rites were designed for moral purification, 
the development of the spiritual faculties, and the attainment of 
conscious immortality ; nor was there any secrecy about the general 
principles of the perfective philosophy, which were openly incul- 
cated. Thus Plato, arguing always for the immortality of the soul 
and human perfectibility, expatiates upon moral subjects with the 
greatest clearness; but whenever he has for his subject the inner 
constitution of man he is purposely vague, and in treating of the 



GENERAL INTRODUCTION 5 

subjective worlds and the after-death states of the soul, he invari- 
ably employs the medium of allegory. Many passages in his writ- 
ings, as in the Timaios, are quite unintelligible to any one who does 
not possess the key to the zodiacal language; and this is also true of 
most of the sacred writings of antiquity. 

The point where the arcane system sharply diverges from all the 
conventional schools of thought is in the means of acquiring know- 
ledge. To make this clear, Plato's analysis of the four faculties of 
the soul, with their four corresponding degrees of knowledge, may 
be taken. (Rep. vi. 511.) Tabulated, it is as follows : 

THE VISIBLE, SENSUOUS WORLD 

1. Et/c curia, perception of images,] Sofa, opinion, 



:} 



2. litems, faith, psychic groping, J illusory knowledge. 

THE INTELLIGIBLE, SUPRASENSUOUS WORLD 

3. AiaVota, philosophic reason, j yvaxris, imonjfir), wisdom, 

4. Nolens, direct cognition, true knowledge. 

The first of these degrees covers the whole field of the inductive 
physical sciences, which are concerned with investigating the 
phenomena of external nature ; the second degree embraces exoteric 
religion and all phases of blind belief; and these two degrees, per- 
taining to the phrenic or lower mind, comprise all the knowledge 
available to those whose consciousness does not transcend the illu- 
sions of the material world. The third degree relates to speculative 
philosophy, which seeks to arrive at first principles by the effort of 
pure reason; the fourth degree is the direct apprehension of truth 
by the lucid mind independently of any reasoning process ; and these 
two degrees, pertaining to the noetic or higher mind, represent the 
field of knowledge open to those whose consciousness rises to the 
world of spiritual reality. Elsewhere Plato speaks of the mantic 
state, which he describes as a kind of madness produced "by a divine 
release from the ordinary ways of men." 

The exoteric scientist and religionist rely on the physical senses, 
the psychic emotions, and the intellectual faculties as these are in 



6 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

the present stage of human evolution; and while the scientist some- 
what enlarges the scope of the senses by employing the telescope, 
the microscope, and other mechanical devices, the religionist puts 
his trust in the mutilated records of suppositional revelations re- 
ceived from the remote past. But the esotericist, refusing to be 
confined within the narrow limits of the senses and the mental 
faculties, and recognizing that the gnostic powers of the soul are 
hopelessly hampered and obscured by its imperfect instrument, the 
physical body, devotes himself to what may be termed intensive self- 
e volution, the conquest and utilization of all the forces and faculties 
that lie latent in that fontal essence- within himself which is the 
primary source of all the elements and powers of his being, of all 
that he is, has been, and will be. By gaining conscious control of 
the hidden potencies which are the proximate causes of his indi- 
vidual evolution, he seeks to traverse in a comparatively brief period 
of time the path leading to spiritual illumination and liberation from 
terrestrial bondage, rushing forward, as it were, toward that goal 
which the human race as a whole, advancing at an almost imper- 
ceptible rate of progress, will reach only after aeons of time. His 
effort is not so much to knozv as to become; and herein lies the 
tremendous import of the Delphic inscription, "Know Thyself," 
which is the key-note of esotericism. For the esotericist under- 
stands that true self-knowledge can be attained only through self- 
development in the highest possible sense of the term, a development 
which begins with introspection and the awakening of creative and 
regenerative forces which now slumber in man's inner protoplasmic 
nature, like the vivifk potency in the ovum, and which when roused 
into activity transform him ultimately into a divine being bodied in 
a deathless ethereal form of ineffable beauty. This process of tran- 
scendental self -conquest, the giving birth to oneself as a spiritual 
being, evolving from the concealed essence of one's own embryonic 
nature a self-luminous immortal body, is the sole subject-matter of 
the Apocalypse, as it is also the great theme of the Iesous-mythos. 

In the esoteric philosophy — the infelicitous word "esoteric" being 
used in this work merely because the English language appears to 
afford no happier one — the absolute Deity is considered to be 



GENERAL INTRODUCTION 7 

beyond the spheres of existence and ulterior to Being itself. The 
world of true Being is that of the Logos, or Nous, the realm of 
divine ideas, or archetypes, which are the eternal patterns, so to say, 
of all things in the manifested universe. By a paradox which defies 
the reasoning faculty, but which is readily resolved intuitively, the 

x God is said to be apart from, and independent of, the universe, and 
yet to permeate every atom of it. The God is the abstract Unit, 
which is the origin of all number, but which never loses its unit- 
value, and can not be divided into fractions ; wmile the Logos is the 
manifested or collective Unit, a deific Individuality, the collectivity 
of a countless host of Logoi, who are differentiated into seven 
hierarchies, constituting in the aggregate the Second Logos, the 

^ uttered Thought, or Word. 

The mediate principle by which the Logos manifests in and from 
the God is termed in the prologue to the Fourth Gospel the Archeus 
(dovv) '■> it * s the first element or substratum of substantive objec- 
tivity, that which becomes by differentiation first the subtile and 
then the gross material elements of the manifested worlds. If this 
primary substance is related back to the God, and considered as 
being prior to the Logos, the result is the refined dualism that mars 
some of the old systems of philosophy. But in the prologue the 
Logos is really coeval with the Archeus: the Logos is (subsists) in 
the Archeus, and the latter becomes, in the Logos, the principle of 
Life, which irradiates as Light. This Light of the Logos is iden- 
tical with the Pneuma, the Breath or Holy Spirit, and esoterically 
it is the pristine force which underlies matter in every stage, and is 
the producer of all the phenomena of existence. It is the one force 
from which differentiate all the forces in the cosmos. As specialized 
in the human organism, it is termed, in the A r <?ic Testament, the 

1 paraklctos, the "Advocate," and is the regenerative force above 
referred to. 

From the Archetypal w r orld, that of the Logos, emanate succes- 
sively the Psychic and the_ Material w r orlds ; and to these three may 
be added a fourth, which is usually included, by ancient writers, in 
the Psychic, though in reality it is distinct from it. This fourth 
w 7 orld, which will here be called the Phantasmal — since the word 



8 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

"hell" connotes misleading and lurid notions — is the region of 
phantoms, evil spirits, and psychic garbage generally. 

All that the universe contains is contained also in man. The 
origin of man is in the Deity, and his true self or individuality is a 
Logos, a manifested God. Analogous with the universe or macro- 
cosm, man, the microcosm, has three bodies, which are called in the 
New Testament the spiritual body (pneumatikon soma), the 
psychic body (psychikon soma), and thejphysical body (soma, or 
sarx, "flesh"). In the Upanishads they are termed "causal body" 
(karana sharira), "subtile body" (sukshma sharira), and "gross 
body" (sthula sharira). In mystical writings these three, together 
with the fourth, or perfected vesture of the immortal Self, are given 
as corresponding to the four occult elements, and also to the earth, 
moon, sidereal system, and sun, and hence are spoken of as the 
earthly or carnal body (the "muddy vesture of decay," as Shake- 
speare terms it), the lunar or water-body, the sidereal or air-body, 
and the solar or fire-body. 

The spiritual (pneumatic) body is, strictly speaking, not a body 
at all, but only an ideal, archetypal form, ensphered, as it were, by 
the pneuma or primordial principle which in the duality of mani- 
festation generates all forces and elements : it is therefore called 
the "causal body," because from its sphere all the other bodies are 
engendered; and all these lower forms are enveloped by the same 
circumambient aura (called in the New Testament "the radiance" 
or "glory," he doxa), which is visible to the seer as an oviform 
faint film of bluish haze. Semi-latent within this pneumatic ovum 
is the paraklete, the light of the Logos, which in energizing v becomes 
what may be described as living, conscious electricity, of incredible 
voltage and hardly comparable to the form of electricity known to 
the physicist. This is the "good serpent" of ancient symbology; 
and, taken with the pneumatic ovum, it was also represented in the 
familiar symbol of the egg and the serpent. It is called in the 
Sanskrit writings kundalint, the annular or ring- form force, and in 
the Greek speirema, the serpent-coil. It is this force which, in the 
telestic work, or cycle of initiation, weaves from the primal sub- 
stance of the auric ovum, upon the ideal form or archetype it con- 



GENERAL INTRODUCTION 9 

tains, and conforming thereto, the immortal Augoeides, or solar 
body (heliakon soma), so called because in its visible appearance it 
is self-luminous like the sun, and has a golden radiance. Its aureola 
displays a filmy opalescence. This solar body is of atomic, non- 
molecular substance. 

The psychic, or lunar, body, through which the Nous acts in the 
psychic world, is molecular in structure, but of far finer substance 
than the elements composing the gross physical form, to whose 
organism it closely corresponds, having organs of sight, hearing, 
and the rest. In appearance it has a silvery lustre, tinged with deli- 
cate violet; and its aura is of palest blue, with an interchanging play 
of all the prismatic colors, rendering it iridescent. 

The physical body, in its physiological relation to psychology, will 
necessarily have to be considered somewhat in detail in elucidating 
the text; but before entering on this subject, it may be explained 
that another body is sometimes alluded to in mystical writings. It 
is called in Sanskrit kdma rupa, the form engendered by lust, and it 
comes into existence only after the death of the physical body, save 
in the exceptional case of the extremely evil sorcerer who, though 
alive physically, has become morally dead. It' is a phantasm shaped 
1 from the dregs and effluvia of matter by the image-creating power 
of the gross animal mind. Of such nature are the daimones and 
"unclean spirits" of the New Testament, where also the "abomina- 
ble stench" (bdelugma) seems to be a covert allusion to this mal- 
odorous shade. This phantasm has the shadowy semblance of the 
physical body from which it was derived, and is surrounded by a 
cloudy aura of brick-red hue. 
/ . It should be observed that in the esoteric cosmogony the theory 
•of "dead" matter has no place. The universe is a manifestation of 
life, of consciousness, from the Logos down to the very atoms of 
the material elements. But in this philosophy a sharp distinction is 
made between Being and existence: the Logos, the Archetypal 
world, is that of True Being, changeless and eternal ; while existence 
is a going outward into the worlds of becoming, of ceaseless change 
and transformation. The Nous, the immortal man, or mind (for 
v^ the mind should be regarded as the real man), when incarnated 



io . THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

comes under the sway of this law of mutation, entering upon a long 
cycle of incarnations, passing from one mortal body to another. 
The metaphysical aspect of this subject need not be discussed here; 
but it may be said that the fact of reincarnation, so far from being 
mysterious and difficult of proof, is really very prosaic and simple, 
so that it has always been treated as exoteric in all archaic religions 
and philosophies. Positive knowledge of its truth, on a basis of 
personal experience, is one of the first results obtained by any one 
who enters upon the initial stages of self -conquest. It is then a fact 
as apparent to him as are the cognate facts of birth and death. The 
telestic work has for its object to achieve deliverance from reincar- 
nation, and this deliverance is complete and final only when the 
deathless solar body is formed, and the perfected man is thereby 
freed from the necessity of reincarnating in the mortal physical and 
psychic forms. 

The physical body may itself be considered to be an objective 
microcosm, an epitome of the material world, to every department 
of which its organs and functions correspond and are in direct rela- 
tion. Moreover, as the organism through which the soul contacts 
external nature, its organs correspond to, and are the respective 
instruments of, the powers and faculties of the soul. Thus the body 
has four principal life-centres which are, roughly speaking, ana- 
logues of the four worlds, and of the four manifested generic 
powers of the soul; these four somatic divisions are as follows; 

i. The head, or brain, is the organ of the Nous, or higher mind. 

2. The region of the heart, including all the organs above the 
diaphragm, is the seat of the lower mind (phren, or thumos), in- 
cluding the psychic nature. 

3. The region of the navel is the centre of the passional nature 
(epithumia) , comprising the emotions, desires and passions. 

4. The procreative centre is the seat of the vivifying forces on 
the lowest plane of existence. This centre is often ignored by an- 
cient writers, as, for instance, Plato, who assigns four faculties to 
the soul, but classifies only three of the somatic divisions, assigning 
the Nous, or Logos, to the head, thumos to the cardiac region, and 
epithumia to the region below the midriff. Others, however, give 



GENERAL INTRODUCTION n 

the fourfold system, as does Philolaos the Pythagorean, who placed 
the seat and germ (arc he) of reason in the head, that of the psychic 
principle in the heart, that of growth and germination in the navel, 
and that of seed and generation in the sexual parts. 

It is unnecessary, in this brief sketch, to go into further details 
concerning these correspondences, save only in regard to the nervous 
system and the forces operating through it. There are two nervous 
structures : the cerebro-spinal, consisting of the brain and the spinal 
cord; and the sympathetic or ganglionic system. These two struc- 
tures are virtually distinct yet intimately associated in their rami- 
fications. The sympathetic system consists of a series of distinct 
nerve-centres, or ganglia — small masses of vascular neurine — ex- 
tending on each side of the spinal column from the head to the 
coccyx. Some knowledge of these ganglia and the forces associated 
with them is indispensable in an examination into the esoteric mean- 
ing of the New Testament; and as their occult nature is more fully 
elucidated in the Upanishads than in any other available ancient 
works, the teaching therein contained will here be referred to, and 
their Sanskrit terms employed. The ganglia are called chakras, 
"disks," and forty-nine of them are counted, of which the seven 
principal ones are the following: (i) sacral ganglion, muladhara; 
(2) prostatic, adhishthana; (3) epigastric, manipuraka; (4) car- 
diac, anahata; (5) pharyngeal, vishuddhi; (6) cavernous, ajtia; and 
(7) the conarium, sahasrara. Of these only the seventh, the cona- 
rium or pineal body, need be considered here with particularity. It 
is a small conical, dark-gray body situated in the brain immediately 
behind the extremity of the third ventricle, in a groove between the 
nates, and above a cavity filled with sabulous matter composed of 
phosphate and of carbonate of lime. It is supposed by modern 
anatomists to be the vestige of an atrophied eye, and hence is termed 
by them "the unpaired eye." Though atrophied physically, it is still 
the organ of spiritual vision when its higher function is restored by 
the vivifying force of the speircma, or paraklete, and it is therefore 
called esoterically "the third eye," the eye of the seer. 

When, through the action of man's spiritual will, whether by his 
conscious effort or unconsciously so far as his phrenic mind is con- 



Conarium ... 



Sacral 




Cavernous 



Pharyngeal 



Cardiac 



Midriff 



Epigastric 



Prostatic 



The Seven Principal Ganglia 



GENERAL INTRODUCTION 13 

■cerned, the latent kmidalini (speircma) , which in the Upanishads is 
poetically said to lie coiled up like a slumbering serpent, is aroused 
to activity, it displaces the slow-moving nervous force or neuricity 
and becomes the agent of the telestic or perfecting w T ork. As it 
passes from one ganglion to another its voltage is raised, the ganglia 
being like so many electric cells coupled for intensity ; and moreover 
in each ganglion, or chakra, it liberates and partakes of the quality 
peculiar to that centre, and it is then said to "conquer" the chakra. 
In Sanskrit mystical literature very great stress is laid upon this 
"conquering of the chakras." The currents of the kundalini, as also 
the channels they pursue, are called nadis, "pipes" or "channels," 
and the three principal ones are : ( 1 ) sushumna, which passes from 
the terminus of the spinal cord to the top of the cranium, at a point 
termed the brahmarandra, or "door of Brahma"; (2) pingala, 
which corresponds to the right sympathetic; and (3) Ida, which 
corresponds to the left sympathetic. The force, as specialized in 
the ganglionic system, becomes the seven tattvas, which in the 
Apocalypse are called the seven pneumata, "breaths," since they 
are differentiations of the Great Breath, the "World-Mother," sym- 
bolized by the moon. Concurrent with these seven lunar forces are 
five solar forces pertaining to the cerebro-spinal system, called the 
five prana s, "vital airs," or "life-winds," which in the Apocalypse 
are termed "winds" (anemoi). The tattvas, or subtile elements, 
with the ganglia (chakras) to which they respectively correspond, 
are as follows: prithivi, "earth," sacral; apas, "water," prostatic; 
tejas, "fire," epigastric; vayu, "air," cardiac; akasha, "aether," 
pharyngeal; avyakta, "undifferentiated," cavernous; and Brahma, 
"the Evolver" (Logos), conarium. The pranas are the following: 
vyana, the "distributing life- wind," connected with prithivi; apana, 
the "down-going life-wind," with apas; samana, the "uniting life- 
wind," with tejas; prana, the "out-going life-wind," with vayu; 
and udana, the "up-going life-wind," with akasha. Some writers 
give apana as corresponding with prithivi, and vyana with apas; 
but this is erroneous. The Apocalypse represents these twelve 
forces, the seven "breaths" and the five "winds," as corresponding 
to the twelve signs of the zodiac. This arrangement is shown in 



14 



THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 



lo«o"he St , -o 




° n °/ the Eaf tVv 

Diagram of the Zodiac and Correspondences 

the accompanying diagram, with each tattva placed in the sign to 
which its special chakra pertains. The Hellenic Gods of Olympos, 
who were designated as the Guardian-divinities of the signs, are 
also inserted in the diagram for the purpose of comparison. 

The zodiac is a belt of the celestial sphere, about seventeen de- 
grees in breadth, containing the twelve constellations which the sun 
traverses during the year in passing around the ecliptic. Within this 
zone are confined the apparent motions of the moon and major 
planets. The zodiacal circle was divided by the ancients into twelve 
equal portions called signs, which were designated by the names of 
the constellations then adjacent to them in the following order: 
Aries, the Ram; Taurus, the Bull; Gemini, the Twins; Cancer, the 



GENERAL INTRODUCTION 



'5 



Crab; Leo, the Lion; Virgo, the Virgin; Libra, the Balance; Scor- 
pio, the Scorpion ; Sagittarius, the Bowman ; Capricornns, the Goat ; 
Aquarius, the Water-bearer ; and Pisces, the Fishes. Owing to the 
precession of the equinoxes, the signs of the ecliptic are now about 
one place ahead of the corresponding zodiacal constellations, which 
constitute the fixed zodiac. Aside from its astronomical utility, the 
scheme of the zodiac was employed to symbolize the relations be- 
tween the macrocosm and the microcosm, each of the twelve signs 
being made to correspond to one of the twelve greater Gods of the 
ancient pantheon and assigned as the ''house" of one of the seven 
sacred planets; each sign, moreover, being sajd to govern a par- 
ticular portion of the human body, as shown in the following chart. 




The Twelve Signs of the Zodiac 



The zodiac is also divided into four trigons ("triang-les"), named 
respectively after the four manifested elements, earth, water, fire 
and air, to each of which three signs are ascribed. 

Each zodiacal sign is divided into three decans, or parts contain- 
ing ten degrees each, there being three hundred and sixty degrees 
in the circle ; and to each decan is attributed one of the thirty-six 



16 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

constellations which lie north and south of the zodiac. The constel- 
lations thus associated with a sign are termed its paranatellons. 
Thus there are forty-eight ancient constellations, forming, as it 
were, four zodiacs; and the sun and its planets may be considered 
as a sort of central constellation, thus making up the mystic number 
forty-nine, or seven times seven. Each of these constellations being 
made to symbolize a principle, force or faculty in man, the entire 
scheme constitutes a symbolic being, a celestial man, pictured on the 
starry vault. The Sun-God is the Self of this "Grand Man," and 
the four quarters of the zodiac, with the portions of the heavens 
associated with them, are the somatic divisions of the manifested 
form of the Heavenly Man. The element aether is ascribed to the 
Regent of the Sun; and four Guardian-Gods, corresponding with 
the four manifested elements, are designated as Regents of the 
Four Regions, Earth, Ocean, Sky, and the Rivers. In the Baby- 
lonian records, so far as known, only twenty-four paranatellons are 
given, and only three Regions and Element-Gods, Anu, the Sky- 
God, Ea, the Ocean-God, and Bel, the Earth-God; but it is a fair 
presumption that the Babylonians had all the forty-eight constella- 
tions known to the Greeks, and assigned a fourth Region to the 
Fire-God, as is done in the Apocalypse, the Upanishads, and other 
ancient works. These fourfold manifested Powers are, of course, 
correlated with the pranas. In the Apocalypse the Region of Fire, 
which corresponds with the Heart-region, is termed "the Rivers 
and Springs," by which are to be understood the streams of solar 
fire fin the Upanishads the channels (nadls) of the pranas are said 
to ramify from the heart. 

The foregoing covers the topics which must necessarily be re- 
ferred to in elucidating the recondite meaning of the New Testa- 
ment; but to convey a clearer conception of its practical and 
psychological application, further explanation will now be given of 
the action of the "serpent force" (speirema) in the telestic or per- 
fective work. This work has to be preceded by the most rigid 
purificatory discipline, which includes strict celibacy and abstemious- 
ness, and it is possible only for the man or woman who has attained 
a very high state of mental and physical purity. To the man who is 



GENERAL INTRODUCTION 17 

gross and sensual, or whose mind is sullied by evil thoughts or con- 
stricted by bigotry, the holy paraklete does not come ; the unpurified 
person who rashly attempts to invade the adytum of his inner God 
can arouse only the lower psychic forces of his animal nature, 
forces which are cruelly destructive and never regenerative. The 
neophyte who has acquired the "purifying virtues" before entering 
upon the systematic course of introspective meditation by which the 
spiritual forces are awakened, must also as a necessary preliminary 
gain almost complete mastery of his thoughts, with the ability to 
focus his mind undeviatingly upon a single detached idea or abstract 
concept, excluding from the mental field all associated ideas and 
irrelevant notions. If successful in this mystic meditation, he even- 
tually obtains the power of arousing the speirema, or paraklete, and 
can thereby at will enter into the state of manteia, the sacred trance 
of seership. The four mantic states are not psychic trances or som- 
nambulic conditions ; they pertain to the noetic, spiritual nature ; and 
in every stage of the manteia complete consciousness and self-com- 
mand are retained, whereas the psychic trances rarely transcend the 
animalistic phrenic nature, and are usually accompanied by uncon- 
sciousness or semi-consciousness. 

Proficiency in the noetic contemplation, with the arousing of the 
speirema and the conquest of the life-centres, leads to knowledge of 
spiritual realities (the science of which constitutes the Gnosis), and 
the acquirement of certain mystic powers, and it culminates in 
emancipation from physical existence through the "birth ^from 
above" when the deathless solar body has been fully formed. 'This 
telestic work requires the unremitting effort of many years, not in 
one life only but carried on through a series of incarnations until 
the final result is achieved. But almost in its initial stages the con- 
sciousness of the aspirant becomes disengaged from the mortal 
phrenic mind and centred in the immortal noetic mind, so that from 
incarnation to incarnation his memory carries over, more or less 
clearly according to the degree he has attained, the knowledge ac- 
quired; and with this unbroken memory and certainty of knowledge 
he is in truth immortal even before his final liberation from the cycle 
of reincarnation. 



18 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

In arousing the kundalim by conscious effort in meditation, the 
sushumna, though it is the all-important force, is ignored, and the 
mind is concentrated upon the two side-currents; for the sushumna 
can not be energized alone, and it does not start into activity until 
.the Ida and the pingala have preceded it, forming a positive and a 
negative current along the spinal cord. These two currents, on 
reaching the sixth chakra, situated back of the nasal passages, 
radiate to the right and left, along the line of the eyebrows ; then 
the sushumna, starting at the base of the spinal cord, proceeds along 
the spinal marrow, its passage through each section thereof (corre- 
sponding to a sympathetic ganglion) being accompanied by a violent 
shock, or rushing sensation, due to the accession of force — increased 
"voltage" — until it reaches the conarium, and thence passes outward 
through the brahmarandra, the three currents thus forming a cross 
in the brain. In the initial stage the seven psychic colors are seen, 
and when the sushumna impinges upon the brain there follows the 
lofty consciousness of the seer, whose mystic "third eye" now be- 
comes, as it has been poetically expressed, "a window into space." 
In the next stage, as the brain-centres are successively "raised from 
the dead" by the serpent-force, the seven "spiritual sounds" are 
heard in the tense and vibrant aura of the seer. In the succeeding 
stage, sight and hearing become blended into a single sense, by 
which colors are heard, and sounds are seen— or, to word it differ- 
ently, color and sound become one, and are perceived by a sense 
that is neither sight nor hearing but both. Similarly, the psychic 
senses of taste and smell become unified ; and next the two senses 
thus reduced from the four are merged in the interior, intimate 
sense of touch, which in turn vanishes into the epistemonic faculty, 
the gnostic power of the seer — exalted above all sense-perception — 
to cognize eternal realities. This is the sacred trance called in 
Sanskrit samadhi, and in Greek manteia; and in the ancient litera- 
ture of both these languages four such trances are spoken of. These 
stages of seership, however, are but the beginning of the telestic 
labor, the culmination of which is, as already explained, rebirth in 
the imperishable solar body. 



INTRODUCTION TO 
THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 

The Synoptic Gospels, when carefully compared, are seen to be 
compilations evidently made from the same source or sources, and 
they can not reasonably be regarded as independently written nar- 
ratives. Though traditionally Matthew, Mark and Luke are cred- 
ited with the authorship of these three Gospels, it is not known 
who Matthew, Mark and Luke were, or when or where the Gospels 
were written or compiled. These names, as transliterated in the 
Greek text, probably represent Mattitheah, Marcus and Lucanus, 
the first being a Jewish name (though this is conjectural), and 
the others being Roman. In Part II of this work literal translations 
of these Gospels are presented, the source from which they were 
drawn is suggested, and the literary methods by which they have 
been placed in their present form are traced. To afford a more 
comprehensive view of their subject matter, a composite Gospel has 
been constructed from the Synoptics under the title, "The Anointing 
of Iesous," in which all the genuine and valuable portions of the 
text are given, rearranged so as to form a consistent narrative. The 
allegory, or Iesous-mythos, as thus restored, is interpreted as a 
whole and in detail. The prose version and accompanying commentary 
are then followed by a metrical version, "The Crowning of Jesus." 
This portion of the work is devoted to the esoteric or spiritual mean- 
ing of the allegory; all other matters are left for consideration in 
Part II. But the theory upon which the text has been reconstructed, 
and the interpretation given the story of Iesous, are so directly in 
conflict with the opinions commonly held to be orthodox, that it is 
necessary to state here, briefly, what that theory is ; and, owing to 
the corrupt and mutilated condition of the text, it is, unfortunately, 
impossible to confine the commentary wholly to esoteric interpreta- 
tion. 



20 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

The three Gospels are treated as if they were but three variants of 
the same text. The original source from which they were drawn is 
considered to have been an allegorical drama which formed part 
of the ritual of the Greek Mysteries. As an allegory, this drama 
was expressed in the zodiacal language, and hence has an astronom- 
ical rendering throughout: its hero is the Sun-God, in this astro- 
nomical interpretation, which is only superficial; but in a spiritual 
sense he is a_ neophyte undergoing the trials of initiation, and so 
personifies the Sun-God. Judging by portions of the text, the orig- 
inal drama was a superb poem; but the compilers of the Synoptic 
Gospels had only incomplete prose notes of it, presumably made 
from memory, and these notes they could have obtained only by dis- 
honorable means. To utilize these notes of the Mystery-play as the 
sacred writings for a new religion, the Sun-God was made out to be 
a historical personage ; but to do this the Greek setting of the drama 
necessarily had to be abandoned, and so the "history" was staged in 
Judaea. The Sun-God was metamorphosed into a Jewish Messiah 
and made out to be a reincarnation of King David; and the other 
characters in the play became Jews and Romans. The men who 
thus turned a Greek drama into Jewish mock-history were not 
Jews, and were ignorant of the Hebrew language. They wrote, in 
the unmistakably amateurish style of uncultured men, the common 
Greek vernacular of their day, a debased form of the Attic dialect ; 
and their only sources of information concerning the Jews were the 
Greek version of the Jewish scriptures (the Septuagint) and the 
writings of Josephus and Tacitus. Their ignorance of Jewish cus- 
toms and of the geographical features of Palestine is everywhere 
apparent in their work; and the Jewish coloring which they have 
given the narrative rubs off like a cheap paint as one turns the pages 
of the Gospels, revealing a solar allegory which is Hellenic in form 
and substance. The work of the forgers was not all done at one 
I time; the text shows several successive stages of degradation. The 
first compilers, being "pagan" Greeks, were familiar with the doc- 
trine of reincarnation; and they connected their new "history" with 
the Jewish sacred writings by making out that its characters were 
reincarnated Jewish worthies. But as the new religion developed, 



INTRODUCTION TO THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 21 

abandoning, one after another, the basic truths of the great religions 
of antiquity, the doctrine of reincarnation was eventually repu- 
diated, and the new scriptures were made to centre wholly on the 
Messianic idea, while the distinctively Christian doctrine of eternal 
damnation was formulated and made a lurid feature of the new cult. 
The literary peculiarities of the text show conclusively that the 
period of "inspiration" during which the Gospels were revised to 
suit the growing theological notions of the fanatics of the new faith 
extended over several centuries. The erasing-knife and sponge 
paved the way for the "inspired" pens of the priests who were slowly 
formulating the Christian religion; for the early theologians, in- 
stead of deriving their doctrines from their "revealed" scriptures, 
revised the scriptures to suit the policy of the church. 

A complete restoration of the original drama is of course impos- 
sible: the compilers could not have had access to the original text of 
the sacred Mystery-play ; they had only imperfect notes of it, which 
they used for a dishonest purpose. Their work shows that they had 
no knowledge of the esoteric meaning of the myth, and that they 
were men without culture, literary training, inventiveness or imagi- 
nation. They were simply exoteric priests, coarse, cunning and un- 
scrupulous. But, fortunately, the essential elements of the allegory 
have been preserved — thanks to the very ignorance of the ecclesias- 
tics through whose hands it has passed — and an approximate 
restoration of the Iesous-mythos is here submitted, with the pseudo- 
Jewish features and theological interpolations eliminated. The 
translation, under the title "The Crowning of Jesus," is in verse, and 
follows the narrative style, without attempting to restore the 
dramatic form in which the original poem was undoubtedly cast. 
The prose version, "The Anointing of Iesous," is presented merely 
as a basis for the commentary. 

The narrative begins, as in Mark, with the appearance of Ioannes, 
"the baptist." All the introductory matter in Matthew and Luke, 
telling of the birth of Iesous and of Ioannes, is unquestionably 
spurious. The drama, which as a whole is an allegory of the initia- 
tion of Iesous, that is, of his spiritual rebirth, is not concerned with 
the birth of his physical body, the incidents of his childhood, or, in 



22 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

fact, with anything relating to the personal life, or external phases 
of existence; but the "historicized" version of the mythos was seen 
to be incomplete without some account of the early days of Iesous, 
and so, later on, these forgeries were added to the text by the priests 
who were constantly trying to improve the scriptures. 

In his true Hellenic character Ioannes (whose name appears to be 
a variant of Oannes) is "the bather," ovSpdvos, the Hierophant of 
the Lesser Mysteries. Here, as in other instances, the Greek text 
has been falsified by substituting for a pagan Mystery-term a com- 
monplace synonym, in the ineffectual attempt to conceal the pagan 
origin of the whole story. In the text hydranos has been replaced 
by baptistes, "baptist," and ho baptizon, "the baptizer." But bap- 
tistes is properly "a dyer" ; the substitution is not clever, not even 
specious, but the forger had to get rid of the word hydranos, which 
even the most ignorant Greek would have recognized as the title 
of the lesser hierophant. This rite of lustration, a symbolic purifica- 
tion by water, was not employed by the Jews, and is not mentioned 
in their scriptures ; but it was the most important ceremony in the 
Lesser Mysteries of the Greeks. 

In the action of the drama there are seven great scenic spectacles ; 
and the lustration of the candidates by Ioannes is the first of these. 
Representatives of four classes of people come to the Hydranos to 
receive his lustral rite and to be instructed in their duties. They are 
men of learning, soldiers, merchants, and laborers, corresponding 
to the four oriental castes; and in the performance of the drama 
they would wear the costumes and carry the implements appropriate 
to their respective callings. In the allegory they personify the forces 
of the four somatic divisions ; they are therefore said to come from 
the four regions bordered by the sacred river— the life-current in 
the spinal cord. In the Synoptics most of the instructions here given 
by Ioannes have been transferred to the discourses of Iesous, and 
are therefore dislocated in the so-called "sermon on the mount" and 
elsewhere. 

Ioannes announces the coming of the greater hierophant, the Fan- 
bearer, who lustrates, not with Water, but with Air and Fire. The 
degrees of initiation were thus designated by the sacred elements, 



INTRODUCTION TO THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 23 

the fourth being that of Earth : the Eleusinian Initiates were said to 
\ descend into the Earth and be reborn therefrom. Following this 
announcement, Iesous comes to submit himself to the symbolic rite 
of purification by water. He represents the fifth or super-caste of 
men, who have attained to the noetic consciousness; therefore he 
personifies the Nous as the Sun-God. The solar Dionysos was 
called 6 Xlkvlttjs, "he of the Fan" ; and the sacred winnowing- fan 
was carried in the procession at the festival of the Sun-God. 
Ioannes, after making a show of unwillingness to administer his 
purifying rite to one apparently so much greater than himself, con- 
secrates Iesous, who is thereupon acknowledged as a worthy candi- 
date by a divine Voice from the celestial Air, the Pneuma. The 
candidate is accepted, and has received the first of the four initia- 
tions described in the text, and which are symbolized by the sacred 
elements, water, air, fire, and earth. He is now a Chrestos, an 
accepted candidate for the higher degrees ; not until after the initia- 
tion of Earth does he become a Christos, "anointed one," or King. 
In the Greek text Chrestos has been fraudulently changed to Chris- 
tos, to sustain the Messianic claim. Immediately thereafter, in the 
desert, or solitude, Iesous is subjected to tests, or temptations, by the 
evil Serpent and the Wild-beasts. These beasts, here as in the 
Apocalypse, are the forces and faculties of the lower nature, which 
the candidate has aroused, and which he must conquer. By con- 
secrating Iesous, thereby arousing these lower forces, Ioannes hands 
him over to the tempter, the Serpent; this is the first 7rapaSocn,?, 
"handing over," the final one being made by Ioudas, who hands 
Iesous over to be crucified. 

As the forerunner of Iesous, Ioannes officiates as a herald, and he 
proclaims that "the realm of the skies has drawn near." After he 
has come forth as a conqueror from the ordeals of temptation, 
Iesous repeats this proclamation. This curious phrase, " the realm 
of the skies," is found only in Matthew, where it occurs about 
thirty-three times ; the text of Mark and Luke gives as a substitute 
for it "the realm of God." In this, as in many other instances, the 
text of Matthew is more authentic and complete than the others. 
The theologians, ignoring the plural form of the noun, translate the 



24 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

phrase, "the kingdom of heaven," and claim that it applies to the 
Messianic kingdom which Iesous was about to establish on earth. 
But the kingdom was said to have "drawn near" two thousand years 
ago; hence, unless Iesous and Ioannes were incompetent prophets, 
the theologians are, as usual, wrong in their interpretation. No 
such kingdom has been or ever will be established in the "sphere of 
generation"; as long as men continue _to be "born of women," re- 
maining in the animal-human stage of evolution, they will neces- 
sarily be under the sway of death, and will have to endure the 
miseries of material existence. The phrase, "the realm of the skies," 
can not apply to any material kingdom, nor does it refer to the 
seven planetary "heavens," or subjective worlds : it signifies the 
regions, or rather divisions, of the sky, as mapped out by the forty- 
eight ancient constellations, or groups of fixed stars, including 
the zodiacal constellations, which mark the path of the sun and 
planets, the solar system itself constituting the forty-ninth constella- 
tion. In the zodiacal terminology, each of these constellations 
represented one of the principles, faculties or forces of man, so that 
collectively they constituted "the Heavenly Man," a celestial type of 
the human being, not merely as he is manifested on earth, the "gen- 
erative sphere," but as he really is in the completeness of his occult 
nature, with all his psychic and spiritual qualities and powers. "The 
realm of the starry spaces" is therefore the totality of man's sub- 
jective nature, from his psychic personality up to his divine Self. 
He who obtains that kingdom reigns over— himself. He obtains 
the kingdom through his own efforts, by purifying himself, mould- 
ing his own character, developing his own individuality, and seeking 
to attain to union with his own inner God, that supernal Self of 
him, who is for him the true Messiah who alone can crown him 
with immortality. 

Iesous is "the Son of the Man," that is, of the ideal Heavenly 
Man, the Starry King. With the awakening of the inner senses, 
and the energizing of the psychic potencies symbolized by the Living 
water of the sacred stream, the realm of the starry spaces has drawn 
near to him; but it is only through the mystic crucifixion that he 
becomes the anointed king of that realm. For the Iesous of the 



INTRODUCTION TO THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 25 

allegory is not a Messiah, or Avatar, a special incarnation of the 
Logos. The Messianic legend is foreign to the real narrative, and 
has been woven into the text by the ecclesiastical forgers. Iesous is 
not the "Savior of the World," even allegorically, other than in the 
sense that every man who emancipates himself from the bondage of 
matter and attains to spiritual self-consciousness in the Logos is 
indeed a savior of the world. As the hero of this allegorical drama, 
he first appears on the scene as a neophyte, a candidate for initiation 
into the spiritual mysteries; yet he personifies the Sun-God, and 
speaks as the Hierophant of the Greater Mysteries even before being 
initiated by Ioannes into the lesser rites. For the neophyte must 
thus affirm to himself, constantly and with fervent faith, that he is 
in truth the Sun-God, the deathless Self, and that within himself is 
that great Hierophant, the Master of Wisdom. Thus Iesous, as a 
neophyte, confidently proclaims himself to be the king of the starry 
spaces, even while he is yet only a Chrestos, a noble and worthy 
aspirant, but unanointed, uncrowned. Nowhere in the narrative, as 
found in the mutilated text, is there any record of his being anointed 
either as priest or king. As will be shown later, his crucifixion is in 
fact his anointing, and at his resurrection he appears as the Christos, 
the Anointed King. The sublime confidence of this aspirant, this 
uncrowned king, who goes forward serenely to his mighty destiny, 
is impressively depicted throughout the allegory. His faith in him- 
self is absolute and unwavering. His immediate disciples and the 
lowly untaught common people place almost implicit confidence in 
him; but the conventional scholars and the materialists scornfully 
reject his claim to divinity, while the orthodox religionists, the 
priests, envious of his popularity and hating him for the purity of 
his teaching and because of his stern denunciation of hypocrisy and 
priestcraft, conspire to bring about his death. It is satire, trenchant 
and unconcealed, yet the class of men against whom it is directed 
have, for nearly two thousand years, failed to perceive that it is 
directed against themselves and all their kind. But it is far more 
than satire : it is an allegory of the conflict between the phrenic in- 
tellect, the beast-mind of man, and the noetic, the intuitional mind ; 
and this conflict, in the religious world, takes the form of fanatical 



26 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

opposition, by the advocates of exoteric religion, with its irrational 
dogmas and ritualistic worship of mythical Gods or the anthropo- 
morphized conception of a supreme God, to the investigation of 
truth, the development of a nobler faith, and the progress of man- 
kind towards the divine life. 

Next after the temptations in the desert, Iesous calls four disciples, 
Simon and Andreas, and Ioannes and Iakobos. As Iesous, the Sun- 
God, represents the Nous, these disciples are the four manifested 
noetic powers. He then calls a fifth disciple. Now, in the alle- 
gorical rendering, this fifth disciple is the unmanifested, concealed 
force of the Nous; as such he is the highest and holiest of all the 
disciples, the one who must make the final paradosis, "handing over" 
Iesous to the ordeals of the fourth initiation, even as Ioannes made 
the first paradosis. The disciple who hands Iesous over to be cruci- 
fied is Ioudas. But the priests who historicized the myth converted 
this action of Ioudas into a base betrayal of his Master; and having 
thus made out that Ioudas was a despicable traitor, they expunged 
his name from the text wherever possible. Except where his treach- 
ery is narrated, and in the pseudo-list of twelve disciples, he is 
mentioned only as "one of the disciples," or "a certain young man," 
or else, more frequently, for his name that of Simon has been sub- 
stituted, apparently to add to the glory of Simon, who, under the 
surname "Peter," had been adopted as the founder and patron saint 
of the church. But in designating the fifth disciple in the incident 
where Iesous first calls him } another name was desirable, to displace 
the name Ioudas ; so in Matthew the forgers inserted Matthias 
("Matthew"), and in Mark and Luke, Leit'i or Leueis ("Levi"),' 
while in Mark some manuscripts give the name as Iakobos 
("James"). This substituted "Matthew," or "Levi," is not men- 
tioned again anywhere else in the Synoptics. 

To these five disciples, who represent the noetic powers, or pranas, 
Iesous adds seven others, the psychical forces, or tattvas; these 
twelve he chooses to be his companions, "to be with him," and quite 
naturally so, for in the astronomical rendering of the allegory Iesous 
is the Sun and his companions are the twelve zodiacal constellations. 
He next appoints seventy-two other disciples, and sends them forth 



INTRODUCTION TO THE ANOINTING OF IESQUS 27 

"two by two," or as thirty-six duads. Now, in the falsified text, the 
twelve and the seventy-two are alike termed apostles; but, as the 
word apostolos means a "messenger," it is clear that while the sev- 
enty-two are apostles the twelve most certainly are not. The priestly 
forgers, in their desire to further the "apostolic" claims of their 
church, have turned the twelve into apostles, and have endeavored 
to conceal the true nature of the seventy-two messengers. In the 
instructions given by Iesous to the disciples who are sent forth he 
mentions the distinctive properties belonging to Hermes, the Mes- 
senger and Interpreter of the Gods— the staff, the purse, the sandals 
and the single tunic. The messengers are told to be "as crafty as 
the serpents [of Hermes] and as guileless as the doves [of Aphro- 
dite]." Hermes was an androgynous, male- female God, his female 
aspect being represented by Aphrodite : in ancient Greece composite 
statues of the two were common. The seventy-two messengers are 
androgynes, each duad personifying Hermes- Aphrodite. The word 
apostolos is simply an implausible substitute for Hermes ; and these 
disciples who are sent forth as messengers are the thirty-six parana- 
tellons, the extra-zodiacal constellations. Hermes is the Guardian- 
God of the sign Cancer, which denotes the northern limit of the 
sun's course in summer, and hence is the sign of the summer solstice. 
The Ass on which Iesous rides when entering the sacred city is 
found as a star in Cancer; the southern paranatellon of Cancer is 
Argo Navis, the Ship in which Iesous and the twelve embark on 
certain of their journeyings, and the northern paranatellon of the 
sign is Ursa Minor, which is intimately associated with the Pole- 
star. The contour of the Lesser Bear is marked out by seven stars ; 
of these, four constitute a four-sided figure, which was called by the 
ancients the "Enclosure of Life," the Pole-star being the "Lord of 
the Enclosure." Thus Cancer, the great northern "gate" of the 
zodiac, is associated with the Pole-star, which remains apparently 
motionless in the highest point of the heavens, and around which 
all the constellations seemingly revolve; and Hermes, as the 
Guardian-God of Cancer, is related in a special manner to all the 
paranatellons. In the allegory the thirty-six dual messengers per- 
sonify the forces of the androgynous man, the powers of Thought 



28 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

and Love, of which Hermes and Aphrodite are the deified per- 
sonifications. 

The twelve companions of Iesous correspond to the Olympian 
Deities, six of whom were Gods and six were Goddesses. In the 
"historicized" text all the twelve companions are men ; but the names 
of seven of them are substitutes for feminine names. In Mark vi. 3 
and Matthew xiii. 55 the brothers of Iesous are given as Iakobos, 
loses, Simon and Ioudas : these are the names of four of his male 
companions, Ioannes having been changed to loses ; and Andreas is 
omitted. The sisters of Iesous are also mentioned, but their names 
are not given, and it is not stated how many of them he had. A 
careful analysis of the allegory, however, shows that Iesous had 
five brothers, personifying the pranas, and seven sisters, personify- 
ing the tattvas. 

Pending the return of the seventy-two "apostles," Iesous and his. 
twelve "companions," who are his five brothers and seven sisters, 
embark in the Ship and repair to a "desert spot" for an outing. The 
people, however, see them going, and follow them in crowds. Late 
in the afternoon it develops that the self-invited multitude have 
brought no food, while the twelve companions have provided only 
five loaves and two fishes. There are 4,900 people (the text says, 
in round numbers, "about 5,000") ; and Iesous directs that they 
form into forty-nine groups of one hundred each — the text says, "in 
groups of about fifty," but the allegory plainly indicates that the 
numbers should be multiples of the sacred number seven. Iesous 
then divides the five loaves and two fishes among the twelve com- 
panions, who distribute them to the forty-nine mess-groups; and 
after the repast twelve baskets are filled with the left-over frag- 
ments. This allegory relates to the allotment of the seven sacred 
planets, and the planetary influences, to the twelve zodiacal signs 
and the paranatellons, synthesized in the solar system itself as the 
forty-ninth constellation. The five loaves are the male planets, 
Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Sun and Mercury ; and the two fishes are the 
female planets, Venus and Moon. The fish is preeminently a female 
symbol. The Ship is the southern paranatellon of Cancer; and the 
"desert spot" is the point of the summer solstice, there being no 



INTRODUCTION TO THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 29 

conspicuous stars in that portion of the heavens. In the zodiacal 
scheme, Cancer and Leo, the two signs nearest the northern limit of 
the sun's course, and which are therefore regarded as the two high- 
est solar thrones, are assigned to the Moon and the Sun. The two 
next highest thrones are assigned to Mercury, the planet nearest to 
the Sun, and so on, each planet, in the order of its proximity to the 
Sun, receiving two signs. In Mark (xv. 39, 40) the mess-parties 
are said to recline on the greensward in plots like garden-beds 
(irpacnal Trpacriai): they thus represent the constellations into 
which the starry sky is divided. Thus in the allegory the forty-nine 
stellar divisions are permeated by the septenary planetary influences, 
the differentiations of the forces being expressed by multiplying the 
forty-nine by one hundred ; yet each of the twelve companions, the 
Regents of the zodiacal houses, gathers up a full basket after the 
feast. 

The seventy-two messengers return, rejoicing over their conquest 
of the evil spirits, and Iesous tells them that he has seen the Serpent 
falling from heaven. Thus they return victorious from the war in 
heaven, and Iesous bids them rejoice because their names are 
"written in the skies"— and he might have added, in the star-maps 
as well. Michael, who in the Apocalypse expels the Dragon, the 
evil Serpent, from heaven, is identical with Hermes. The whole of 
this scene, from the calling of the disciples on the mount (that is, 
Olympos) to the return of the seventy-two, is a ritualistic represen- 
tation of the movements of the heavenly bodies; it is a version of 
the "Kosmos-dance" of the Mysteries. 

When he starts on his journey to the sacred city, Iesous predicts 
to his disciples that he will be crucified and will be raised from "the 
dead." This is but a mystical way of saying that he is to be ini- 
tiated and will attain to conscious immortality. But Simon accepts 
the statement with wooden literalism; whereupon Iesous rebukes 
him, characterizing him as the mind that understands human affairs 
only, and has no grasp on things divine. Here Simon represents the 
reasoning faculty. On the seventh day of the journey Iesous goes 
to a lofty mountain, and is accompanied by Ioudas, Ioannes and 
Iakobos. In the text the forgers have substituted Simon for Ioudas ; 



30 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

but here Simon is impossible. Iouclas, as sushiimna, the central 
nadi, necessarily goes with the two companions who represent Ida 
and pin gala. The "mountain" to which they come on the seventh 
day is the seventh of the chakras. Here Iesous undergoes a trans- 
formation : the Sun-God temporarily manifests through him. With 
him appear two other radiant beings; they are said in the text to 
be Moses and Elijah, but that spiritualistic version must be rejected 
as a pseudo-Jewish touch added by the forgers. These two appari- 
tions represent the two super-physical bodies which with the physical 
form comprise the three habitations of the Self. 

Having entered the city, Iesous proceeds forthwith to purify the 
temple. Then, in the house of the "man bearing a pitcher of water" 
(the Regent of the Aquarius-quarter of the zodiac) he and his 
twelve companions celebrate the "last supper," after which follows 
the final paradosis, or "handing over" of Iesous to the ordeal of the 
crucifixion, which is followed by his resurrection. As a brief sum- 
mary of this portion of the sacred drama would be unsatisfactory, 
the consideration of it will be deferred to the commentary. 

In the narrative as here restored the main events follow the order 
in which they are found in the Synoptics; but many portions of the 
text, especially those which are discordantly placed in the Synoptics, 
are transferred to the. positions where they evidently belong, and the 
scattered discourses and sayings are subjoined to the events to which 
they appropriately relate, and are so combined as to afford an or- 
derly and topical statement of the teachings they contain. Every- 
thing which the present author considers spurious has been excluded 
from the text; yet among the rejected passages there is nothing of 
any real ethical value or literary beauty except the one sentence, 
"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do"— a saying 
which fails to fit the context and has no good authority in the manu- 
scripts. 

In justice to the Jews, who have been infamously maligned by the 
priestly forgers who concocted the pseudo-Jewish "history" in 
which the orthodox Jews and their priests were vilified and made 
out to be the murderers of the Son of God, and in justice also to the 
"pagan" Greeks, from whose sacred literature the original allegory 



INTRODUCTION TO THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 31 

was undoubtedly stolen, the narrative has been stripped of its ill- 
fitting Jewish disguise and restored to an Hellenic garb. With the 
elimination of the badly written interpolations, which have no 
literary or moral merit, and also of the misapplied and misquoted 
passages taken from the Jewish scriptures and foisted in the text, 
nothing distinctively Hebraic remains in the narrative except per- 
sonal and place-names and the names of certain sects, all of which 
are dishonest substitutes. In the restored narrative the names of the 
principal characters are retained, their Hellenic correspondences 
being pointed out in the commentary; but all place-names are 
omitted, and instead of such names as "Pharisees" and "Sadducees" 
equivalent expressions are given. The "Pharisees," for instance, 
are replaced by "the orthodox" or by "exoteric priests." His- 
torically the Pharisees merely represented the national faith of 
orthodox Judaism. A free translation of the Greek text, as thus 
emended, has been made; and with the purpose of undoing, as far 
as possible, the work of the forgers who "historicized" the drama, 
certain passages which they have left in an almost hopelessly muti- 
lated state have been made to harmonize w r ith Greek philosophy 
and mysticism; but whenever a passage thus varies from the text 
the fact is noted in the commentary. The word Oeos, "God," is 
rendered "All-Father"; and ayyeXou, "angels," is rendered "Gods." 
The "angels" in the New Testament are simply Greek Gods in a Jew- 
ish disguise; and Philon Judaios, who certainly knew, asserted that 
the angels of the Jewish writings are identical with the Greek Deities. 
The characters of the drama, not including those who appear only 
in minor incidents, or episodes, are the following : 

Iesous, the Worthy Candidate ; personifying the Sun-God. 
Ioannes the Hydranos, the Hierophant of the Lesser Mysteries ; 
personifying the Moon-God. 



Ioudas, Regent of Aries, 
Ioannes, Regent of Taurus, 
Iakobos, Regent of Gemini, 
Simon, Regent of Pisces, 
Andreas, Regent of Aquarius, 



The Five Brothers of Iesous ; 

personifying Guardian-Gods of the 

Zodiacal Signs. 



32 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Seven Sisters of Iesous; personifying the Guardian-Goddesses 
of the Zodiacal Signs from Cancer to Capricornus. 

Seventy-two Messengers, in Divine Duads; personifying the 
Thirty-six Extra-zodiacal Constellations, the Paranatellons. 

Ioseph the Carpenter, the Father of Iesous; personifying the 
Demiourgos, the World-builder. 

Mariam, the Mother of Iesous ; personifying the Celestial ^Ether, 
or Higher World- Soul. 

Mariam the Temple-woman (one of the Seven Sisters) ; per- 
sonifying the Terrestrial iEther, or Lower World-Soul. 

Orthodox Religionists, ^ 

Conventional Scholars, ^representing the Intellectual Caste. 

Materialists, J 

Soldiers, representing the Military Caste. 

Merchants, representing the Commercial Caste. 

Common People, representing the Laboring Caste. 

Rabble of Outcasts. 

Head-priest, Priests, Temple-guards and Servants. 

Tetrarch and Soldiers. 

Iesous Barabbas and Two Malefactors. 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 

I 

THE INITIATION BY WATER- PSYCHIC DEGREE; 

LUNAR 

i. The Four Grades of Men— The Forces 
of the Four Somatic Divisions 

The Lesser Hierophant Purifies Candidates in the Living Stream 
[Mk. i. 4. Matt. iii. I, 2, 5, 6] 

To the sacred plain came Ioannes, hierophant of the lustral rite, 
he who elucidates the purifying virtues to the four grades of men 
who are the head, the heart, the soul and the seed of every nation. 
By the bank of the stream, wherein are bathed all aspirants who turn 
from the wide way of sin to tread the path of purity and peace, he 
stood, and the exultant hills echoed his clarion cry : 

"Cleanse ye both mind and heart; for the realm of the starry 
spaces has drawn near." 

Then from the sacred city, and from the four regions bordered 
by the crystal river, came aspirants to be lustrated by him in its 
living water; and consecration was refused to those alone whose 
souls, crimsoned by horrid crimes, could be whitened only in the lake 
of anguish in the underworld. 

COMMENTARY 

This, opening scene represents the first rite in the Lesser Mys- 
teries : the officiating priest, or initiator, who was called the 
Hydranos ("bather" or "sprinkler"), publicly administered to can- 
didates this ceremony, by bathing them in the waters of a running 
stream, as the river Ilissos ; he exhorted them to lead lives of the 



34 



THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 



strictesr morality, and instructed them in matters pertaining to the 
psychic stages of their development. The higher, spiritual truths 
were imparted only in the solemn seclusion of the telesterion, or 
temple of initiation; but no candidate could be admitted to the 

Greater Mysteries within less than a 
year from his initiation into the Les- 
ser. Men who were guilty of man- 
slaughter or other serious crimes 
could never participate in the purifi- 
catory rite. In the Gospels the word 
hydranos is replaced by baptistes or 
ho baptizon, "the one who dips"; 
and the scene is transferred to the 
shore of the Jordan, although the rite 
was one not practised by the Jews. 
The Hydranos is given the per- 
sonal name Ioannes (reminiscent of 
the Euphratean Oannes, the Water- 
God), and he is made to live in 
the desert in imitation of Banos, the 
Essene under whom Josephus (Life, 
p. 2) studied in his youth; the hairy 
mantle of Ioannes is taken from 
Zechariah xiii. 4, and his leathern 
belt from II Kings i. 8. Needless to 
say, the Greek hierophant did not 
live in a desert or wear so uncouth 
a garb. 

It is not the actual ceremony in 
the Lesser Mysteries that is de- 
scribed in the text, but a spectacular 
representation of it in the Mystery-drama, which is allegorical 
throughout. Here the fact that the ceremonial bathing took place in 
the open air, beside flowing water and in the sunshine, is in itself 
pregnant with meaning: the primary work of the neophyte is self- 
purification, clean living and pure thinking; by sincerity of soul and 




Oannes 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 35 

childlike naturalness he becomes attuned to nature, and as his psy- 
chic faculties unfold he becomes conscious of the subtile forces 
which are behind all natural phenomena. The development of his 
psychic senses opens up to him new spheres of being, and gives to 
things material a new aspect. Yet this is psychic only, and not 
spiritual ; it is but the "drawing near" of the divine consciousness. 

Ioannes is, astronomically, the "Midsummer Sun, which on entering 
the gate of descent at Cancer presides over the waning days, even as 
Iesous is the Midwinter Sun; but by a reduplication of the symbols, 
Ioannes is here the Moon-God, and Iesous the Sun-God ; and again 
the symbols are reduplicated in the preceding sign Gemini, in which 
the stars Kastor and Polydeukes represent the regents of night and 
day. As the Moon-God, Ioannes stands for the psychic self in man, 
and the living water of his lustral rite is the septenary psychic force 
or element. The four regions bordered by the river are the four 
somatic divisions; and the four grades, or castes, of men are the 
various faculties and qualities of the complex individuality. Below 
these are the outcasts, standing for the purely instinctual, animal 
nature, inherent in the physical body and in a large measure nec- 
essary to its existence, and from which, therefore, the soul can not 
be entirely freed until it has ceased to incarnate. In the pseudo- 
Jewish version of the story the scenes in the life of Iesous are laid 
in the four districts or regions of Palestine (Judaea, Samaria, and 
Upper and Lower Galilee) and its capital city, Jerusalem; and these 
approximately meet the requirements of the allegory. But these 
requirements would be met more closely by the political divisions in 
the Athenian state, which under Solon's constitution conformed to 
the zodiacal pattern. As arranged by Solon, Athens had four 
phylai, tribes or classes, each consisting of three phratrai, clans, 
each of which contained thirty gene, patrician houses; these sub- 
divisions correspond to the four quarters of the zodiac, each of 
which contains three signs, each sign having thirty degrees, or three 
decans. 

There are sins which leave so indelible a stain on the auric sphere 
of a man that they can not be erased in the same incarnation : it 
matters not how pure he may otherwise make himself, he must wait 



36 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

till he has again passed through the gates of death and birth before 
he can begin the perfective work in its psychic stages. Hence men 
thus stained were not allowed to participate in the purificatory rites. 

Many of the Intellectual Class, Disdaining to Receive the 
Lustral Rite, Are Reprimanded 

[Matt. iii. 7; xii. 4-7; vii. 16, 17, 19; iii. 10, 8, 9] 

But when he perceived many of the priests and the materialists 
decrying the lustral rite, he spoke thus, hurling stern words at 
them : 

"O brood of vipers ! Who covertly prompted you to flee from the 
divine frenzy impending? O brood of vipers! How can ye who 
are ignoble speak noble truths ? For it is from the heart's overflow 
that the mouth speaks : the good man from the rich accumulation of 
his heart dispenses treasures, and the depraved man from his worth- 
less accumulation throws out refuse. Are figs gathered from 
acanthus-trees, or grapes from thistles? Even so every good tree 
bears desirable fruit, but the worthless tree produces useless fruit. 
Every tree which does not bear good fruit is hewn down and cast 
into the fire — and already the axe is poised before the root of the 
trees ! Bring forth, therefore, the excellent fruit of reformation, 
and refrain from saying among yourselves, 'We are lineal descend- 
ants of the Sire of our nation,' for I say to you that from these 
stones the All-Father can bring to life a people worthy of that Sire 
of whom you are the offspring fallen and debased." 

COMMENTARY 

By the energizing of the psychic forces, symbolized by the occult 
element Water, the aspirant passes into the first of the sacred 
trances, a state of mantic exaltation. It is not, as the theologized 
version would have it, "the wrath of God," but is a divine fury, as 
contrasted with the slow and placid plodding of the lower intellect. 
The inferior mental faculties are by their nature opposed to the 
mantic afflatus; they are represented in the allegory as the disdain- 
ful conventional religionists and wooden materialists, who proudly 
claim descent from the Sire, or Zeus in his aspect as Cosmic Intelli- 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 37 

gence, the higher world-soul. Cold intellectualism is due to the 
disproportionate development of the discursive reason, with the con- 
sequent decay of the nobler faculties which alone can give accession 
of true knowledge : for reason has in itself no creative or originative 
power; its function is to formulate, classify and arrange the material 
brought to the mind by the perceptive faculties, intuition, imagina- 
tion and the divine memories stored in the mystic heart of man. 




Deukalion and Pyrrha 



When the lower reason has inhibited the action of these finer facul- 
ties of the soul, and has usurped the entire mental field, it can of 
itself acquire nothing new, but adds to its store only the formulated 
thoughts of other men, and finally relapses into sterile unfaith in 
everything psychic or spiritual. 

The classification of mankind into four grades, in analogy with 
the four races, white, yellow, red and black, is not arbitrary and is 
not based on distinctions of color or occupation. Every man, what- 
ever may be the outer circumstances of his life, has his normal con- 



38 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

. sciousness correlated to one or another of the four great planes of 
life. The system of hereditary castes, as found among some ancient 
peoples, is arbitrary and pernicious, and especially so when those 
belonging to the highest caste form a priesthood and claim to stand 
in special relation to the Deity. 

In the text the metaphorical reference to the common people as 
"stones" is probably reminiscent of a word-play on laas, "stone," 
and la os, "people." According to Greek mythology, after Zeus, the 
Sire, had by a deluge destroyed all the human race except Deukalion 
and Pyrrha, a new race was created from the stones which the sur- 
viving pair cast behind them, the stones being miraculously trans- 
formed into human beings. 

The Working Class Are Instructed 
[Lk. iii. 10, ii. Matt, xxiii. 2-7; v. 20] 

And the working-people asked him : 

"What, then, shall we do?" 

He answered them : 

"The men of learning and the orthodox officially occupy the chair 
of the Law-giver; therefore give heed to and practise whatever 
precepts they may lay down for you. But do not shape your con- 
duct in accordance with their actions; for they preach but do not 
practise. They do up heavy burdens, and pack them on men's shoul- 
ders ; but they themselves will not lift a finger to lighten those 
burdens. All their actions are performed for spectacular effect ; for 
they flaunt broad amulets, with exaggerated hems on their mantles ; 
and dearly do they love the first place at dinners, the chief seats in 
the assemblies, the salutations in the market-places, and to be 
greeted by men as 'Teacher.' I tell you that unless your morality 
shall be more exuberant than that of the learned men and the ortho- 
dox, into the realm of the starry spaces you shall not enter." 

COMMENTARY 

The word dikaiosune, here rendered "morality," designates the 
character of one who is just and upright in all his dealings ; although 
it covers a wide range of virtues, it applies more to conduct than to 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 39 

the inner life, to the performance of all duties with a pure motive, 
and yet not to the absolute rectitude understood by theology. It 
may be regarded as summing up the virtues possible for a man to 
obtain while engaged in the active work of the world, but falling 
short of the holiness (hosiotes) which pertains to the contemplative 
life. Greek philosophy, as expounded by Porphyrios, recognized 
four classes of virtues, or, more properly speaking, three classes 
which culminated in wisdom : of these, self-control applied especially 
to the lowest grade of men, manliness to the military grade, upright- 
ness to the commercial grade, and wisdom to the highest grade; 
while holiness was the attribute of truly spiritual men, who con- 
stitute the fifth or super-caste. 

The Commercial Class Are Instructed 
[Lk. iii. 12, 13. Matt. vi. 19, 20. Lk. xii. t,3, 34- Matt. v. 42] 

There came also merchants to be lustrated, and they said to him : 

"Teacher, what are we to do?" 

To them he said : 

" Store not up for yourselves treasures on this earth, where moths 
destroy and rust corrodes, and thieves break in and steal ; but create 
for yourselves in the world supernal a lasting treasure which no 
thief can touch, no moth destroy. For where your treasure is, there 
also will be your heart. Give to him who asks of you ; and from 
him who would borrow, turn not away." 

COMMENTARY 

These instructions of the Hydranos are given to candidates for 
initiation into the sacred Mysteries : therefore some of the rules of 
morality are more strict than they would be if intended for men of 
the world, the "profane" ; but, on the other hand, principles of 
morality which have a general application, and therefore do not 
apply to the candidates in a special way, are not discoursed upon. 
Thus, an exhortation to honesty, or a denunciation of dishonorable 
methods of acquiring wealth, would be inappropriate here. The 
aspirants to the higher life are told not to set the heart on anything 



4 o THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

transitory, impermanent, but to rely on that which is eternal and 
divine. The meaning, though apparently simple, can not be under- 
stood by those who conceive of heaven as a place where the resur- 
rected dead disport happily in the presence of a personal God. 
Minds so immature can grasp only the crude doctrines of exoteric 
religion. 

The Military Class Are Instructed 

[Lk. iii. 14. Matt. xi. 12. Lk. iii. 14] 

Those doing duty as soldiers also asked him : 

"And what are we to do — even we?" 

Said he to them : 

"The realm of the starry spaces is carried by storm, and the force- 
ful obtain mastery over it. But extort from no man by violence, 
neither use the tricks of a spy; but be content with a soldier's wage." 

COMMENTARY 

Courage is one of the essential virtues of the aspirant, who must 
with dauntless energy force his way through the dark and hostile 
psychic planes of life which have to be traversed before the divine 
realm is reached; and the realm itself belongs 
only to him who can become its conqueror. But 
the occult teachings are imparted to him, by 
those who know, only as he may merit them; 
he will receive no more than his rightful wage, 
and he can gain nothing by compulsion or arti- 
fice. The neophyte is very apt to overestimate 
his own merits, and imagine therefore that he 
is entitled to more than he is receiving; also the craving for know- 
ledge may cause him to lose sight of the fact that wisdom comes, 
not from listening to the words of others, but from the unfolding 
of the inner faculties. 

Athena, who was fabled to have sprung from the head of Zeus, 
was the Goddess of War as well as of Wisdom; for whoever has 
wisdom wields power. 




THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 41 

The Moral Code for All Candidates Is Proclaimed 
[Lk. iii. 18. Matt. v. 6, 3-5, 7-9] 

With many other admonitions he continued to address the pos- 
tulants : 

"Immortal are they who thirst for holy Wisdom : for they shall 
drink at its primeval fountain. 

"Immortal are the supplicants in the supernal Air : for theirs is 
the realm of the starry spaces. 

"Immortal are the mourners for the Sun-God crucified: for in 
them his deathless Flame shall rise anew. 

"Immortal are the self-effaced : for they shall be heirs to the most 
sacred Earth. 

"Immortal are the compassionate : for they shall receive Com- 
passion Absolute. 

"Immortal are the pure in heart : for they shall see the Self Di- 
vine. 

"Immortal are they who reach the sacred peace: for 'Sons of 
God' shall they be called. 

COMMENTARY 

The word makarios, as here used, conveys the conception of bliss 
eternal and supernal, and is descriptive of beings who are deathless 
and divine; only when applied colloquially to ordinary mortals can 
it be correctly rendered "blessed" or "fortunate." Of the nine so- 
called beatitudes, the last two are unquestionably spurious ; and the 
others have been degraded to the level of mere commonplaces by 
the priests who revised and rewrote the text to suit their own 
theological notions. Yet even in their mutilated form the first four 
refer unmistakably to the four elements: Air (pneuma) , Fire (the 
fire of the Paraklete being retained in the expression, "they shall be 
parakleted," which does not mean "comforted"), Earth, and Water 
(retained only in the word "thirst"). Placing this fourth beatitude 
at the beginning, the four elements are then in correct sequence. 
Now, to "hunger and thirst after uprightness," and to "be filled" 
(literally "stall-fattened") with it, is not a natural combination of 



V 



42 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

ideas : right-conduct depends upon a man's own efforts, not upon his 
acquiring anything extrinsic. To express the notion that a man was 
desirous of doing his duty, one would not naturally say that he 
hungered and thirsted for it. Obviously the beatitude has been 
overworked, "uprightness" being substituted for "wisdom," and an 
attempt being then made to give the sentence a plausible sound by 
supplementing thirst with hunger. The forgers, being opponents of 
Gnosticism, had a fanatical prejudice against "wisdom," and in 
many places in the text they have expunged the word, sometimes 
writing in a substitute, as "faith" or "righteousness," and sometimes 
leaving a lacuna. In symbolism the moon is associated with water 
and also with wisdom ; and very probably the original beatitude may 
have contained an allusion to the Moon-God ; while the beatitude in 
which the notion of mourning is connected with that of the Para- 
klete, the solar fire, referred to the Sun-God, whose allegorical 
"death" was mourned in the mystery-ceremonials. 

As reconstructed, the first four beatitudes refer to the four occult 
elements, representing the fourfold manifested powers in the four 
worlds; and the last three, a splendid triad, to divine love, purity 
and peace : or, more fully, to the all-embracing love of the Logos 
(Eros), the Son; the stainless purity of the World-Soul, the 
Mighty Mother ; and the perfect peace of the Supreme Father. 

The Moral Code, Continued 
[Matt. v. 17, 19, 2.1, 27, 28, 38, 39, 43, 44. Lk. vi. 31] 

"Think not that I am come to annul the moral law and the rules 
of morality laid down by the seers. I have not come to annul, but 
to add fo and make more complete. Whoever, therefore, shall sub- 
vert one of these minor commandments, and teach men so, shall be 
called a 'minor' in the realm of the starry spaces ; but whoever shall 
practise and teach them shall be called an 'adult' in the realm of the 
starry spaces. 

"You have heard that 't was said to the people of old, 'Thou shalt 
not commit murder, and whoever commits murder shall be subject 
to judgment.' But to you I say, Every one who becomes angry with 
his brother-man shall be subject to judgment. 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 43 

"You have heard that 't was said, 'Thou shalt not commit adul- 
tery.' But to you I say, Every man who casts lustful eyes on a 
woman has already in his heart committed adultery with her. 

"You have heard that 't was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth 
for a tooth.' But to you I say, Do not return evil for evil, but if 
any one deals you a blow on the right cheek, turn to him the other 
also. 

"You have heard that 't was said, 'Thy neighbor thou shalt love, 
but thine enemy thou shalt hate.' But to you I say, Love even your 
enemies, and do unto others as you would that they should do unto 
you." 

COMMENTARY 

The commandments quoted in this discourse are taken, of course, 
from the Jewish code; but, as similar laws were in force in every 
civilized nation, the fact has no special significance. From what- 
ever code the laws may have been quoted originally, the forgers 
were bound, under their general policy, to give them a Jewish color. 

The doctrine of non-resistance to enemies is not of general appli- 
cation, but is laid down for neophytes in the sacred science. Much 
of the ethical teaching ascribed to Iesous is intended for those only 
who have renounced the world to devote themselves to the spiritual, 
contemplative life. The futile attempt made by an exoteric church, 
based upon falsified and misunderstood scriptures stolen from the 
ancient Mysteries, to enforce upon the masses of mankind certain 
rules of morality designed primarily for ascetic philosophers leads 
rather to hypocrisy than to sound morality. 

The Lesser Hierophant Foretells the Coming of the Greater 
[Lk. iii. 15-17. Compare Matt. iii. 11, 12] 

Now, as all the people were pondering in their hearts concerning 
Ioannes, whether or not he might be the Enlightener whose coming 
they awaited, Ioannes answered their unspoken thought, and said to 
them all : 

"I indeed lustrate you with Water ; but the Fan-bearer is coming, 
mightier than I, whose sandal-thong I am not competent to unlace : 



44 



THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 



he shall lustrate you with Air supernal and with Fire. In his hand 
is his mystic winnowing-fan, for the thorough cleansing of his 
discerns threshing-floor; into his granary he will gather the wheat, 
but with inextinguishable fire he will burn up the chaff." 







COMMENTARY 

Iesous is here unmistak- 
ably identified with the solar 
Dionysos, the Mystery-God, 
who was called "the Win- 
nower." The mystic fan, 
the likmos or liknon (mys- 
tica vannus Iacchi, as Vergil 
calls it), was a wicker-work 
contrivance which answered 
equally well the purposes of 
a winnowing-fan, a basket 
and a baby's cradle. It was 
used in the sacred field to 
separate the grain from the 
chaff; in it were carried the 
first-fruits and the mystic 
utensils when it was borne 
on the head of the officiating 
priest (who personified the 
God) during the procession 
at the Mystery- festival ; sometimes it was worn as a crown; and 
in it was cradled the infant Dionysos, 6 XlkvlttjS' In the text of 
the Gospels the word \lkvov is carefully avoided, because thus inti- 
mately associated with the "pagan" Mysteries, and the less signifi- 
cant synonym tttvov is substituted for it. The word halon, or holds 
(whence the English word "halo"), signifies "a round threshing- 
floor" ; but here it is used, apparently, not for the floor itself, but 
metonymically for the_round pile of heaped-up grain which is ready 
to be winnowed. The word was also applied to various circular 
objects, as the disk of the sun or moon, the halo surrounding either 



Dionysos 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 45 

of these luminaries, and even a coiled serpent ; it is equivalent to the 
Sanskrit chakra. The Sun-God of the allegory is the spiritual Self, 
the sublime teacher whom the people (the lower principles and 
faculties of the neophyte) are said to be expecting; they are repre- 
sented as questioning whether or not Ioannes (the Moon-God, 
standing for the psychic self) may himself be the expected Illumi- 
nator. Many, indeed, are they who have, upon attaining the psychic 
consciousness, mistaken its reflected light for the direct radiance of 
the Nous, the spiritual sun. 

2. The Fifth Grade, or Supernal Man— the Nous 

The Neophyte Iesous Impersonates the Sun-God, the Fan-Bearer 
[Mk. i. 9. Lk. iii. 21. Matt. xi. 7-9, 11] 

Now, Iesous had come from the upper country, after all had re- 
ceived the lustral rite ; and as the candidates were departing he said 
to them : 

"What did you go to the sacred plain to see— a reed swaying in 
the wind? But what did you go out to behold— a man elegantly 
dressed? Lo, the wearers of elegant clothing live in palatial dwell- 
ings ! What, then, did you go out to behold— a seer ? So be it : for 
I say to you, Than Ioannes, hierophant of the lustral rite, no greater 
man has arisen among them who are of women born, but a babe 
new-born in the realm of the starry spaces is a greater Man than 
he!" 

COMMENTARY 

The psychic principle is the highest part of the generable nature, 
which is "born of woman." The play on the words me gas, "great," 
in the sense of "grown-up," and mikros, "little," as "young," oc- 
curs elsewhere in the text, as in Luke ix. 48. Here "the very little 
one" {ho mikroteros) , or new-born babe, is the initiate who, hav- 
ing passed through the mystic second birth, is greater than the men 
who are only carnally born. 

The extraordinary dislocation of this passage, in Matthew and 
Luke, was probably made by the forgers who inserted the fictitious 
story of the imprisonment and decapitation of Ioannes. 



46 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Iesous, While Impersonating the Greater Hierophant, Receives 
the Rite of the Lesser 

[Matt. iii. 13-15. Lk. xii. 49, 50. Matt. iii. 15] 

Came Iesous then to Ioannes at the sacred river, his lustral rite 
to receive. But Ioannes, trying to dissuade him, protested : 

"Need have I to receive thy lustral rite, and comest thou to me?" 

But Iesous answered him : 

"I have come to sow Fire in the Earth, and why should I desire 
thy rite of Water if that Fire were already kindled? But I have 
yet thy lustral rite to undergo, and O how I am constrained until 
it is accomplished ! Consecrate me now first, for thus 't is fitting 
for us to comply with all the holy ritual." 

Then the lesser hierophant consecrated him, plunging him thrice 
into the purifying stream. 

COMMENTARY 

By assuming the character of the Sun-God, Iesous only asserts 
his innate divinity. He is but an aspirant presenting himself at the 
first of the perfecting rites : not yet has he kindled the sacred fire, 
nor sown it in the earth ; his harvest of grain he has not winnowed 
with air, nor has he bathed in the waters of the sacred stream. The 
humility of the Hydranos before the applicant is a dramatic recog- 
nition of the latter 's divine nature, even though it is as yet unmani- 
fested. 

The "saying" about sowing Fire in the Earth is absurdly dislo- 
cated in the so-called periscope of Luke. 

The Neophyte Is Consecrated, and Is Declared Worthy 
[Matt. iii. 15-17. Mk. i. 11] 

And Iesous, when he had undergone this first of the lustrations, 
rose up immediately from the water, and behold, the vaulted sky 
was riven, and he saw the supernal Air like a dove descending upon 
him ; and a voice from the effulgent throne proclaimed : 

"Thou art my Son, worthy to become the Anointed King of the 
starry realm." 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 47 

COMMENTARY 

The dove, with the ' 'pagans" sacred to Aphrodite, is in Chris- 
tianity the emblem of love and compassion; and as the conventional 
symbol of the holy pneuma it is usually represented with an aure- 
ola of seven rays. The opening of the lower sky. or firmament 
(ouranos), to permit of the descent of the supercelestial Air, reveals 
the same uranology that is found in Plato's exquisite allegory in 
the Phaidros (p. 247), where he tells of the immortal souls ascend- 
ing to the top of the heavenly dome and beholding the region which 
is beyond the heavens, the place of true knowledge. 

Initiated into the first degree by the rite of Water, Iesous be- 
comes a ChrestoSj "noble one," or approved disciple in the Mys- 
teries ; it is not until he has passed through all the tests and occult 
"labors," and has entered into the fourth degree through the rite 
of Earth — the mystic crucifixion — that he becomes a Christos, an 
Anointed King, a full Initiate. In the mutilated text the words 
from his heavenly Father are given as, "Thou art my beloved Son, 
of whom I have approved," the latter clause being in dubious Greek ; 
but to bring out more clearly the nature of that approval, the word- 
ing has been changed, as above, to a promise of his attaining the 
divine kingship. 

3. The Triumph over the Tempter and the Wild-beasts— the 
Conquest of the Psycho-passional Nature 

Iesous Overcomes the Temptations to Which He Is Subjected 

[Lk. iii. 23. Mk. i. 12, 13. Lk. iv. 13] 

Now, Iesous' self was twenty-eight years of age when he began 
his initiation. And into the desert the Air supernal drove him 
forthwith; there, in the murky depths of a cavern, the den of beasts 
that prowl, he dwelt for forty-two days, fasting the while ; and ever 
the Netherworld God, the primeval Serpent, and the wild-beasts, 
put to the test his fortitude and faith. But when the Tempter had 
subjected him to every ordeal, he departed from him until the next 
of the four mystic seasons, and the approving Gods served up for 
him a royal banquet. 



48 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

In the Mithratka, which were copied from the older initiatory 
systems, the neophyte, after he had received the rite of lustration 
by water, and before he was admitted to participate in the higher 
Mysteries, was subjected to twelve consecutive trials or probations, 
called "tortures," designed to test his courage and endurance. These 
trials were undergone within a telestic cave, suitably furnished for. 
such initiation-ceremonies, and the evil powers were symbolized as 
wild-beasts, which were impersonated by the officiating priests. 
When he had successfully passed through these trials the neophyte 
was enthroned as a king, and a banquet was given in his honor. 
The twelve trials thus dramatically represented as many stages of 
self-conquest and purification, leading to sovereignty over self and 
the attainment of wisdom. As said in a Sanskrit poem in which 
the trials of a disciple are described allegorically : 

"The enemies which rise within the body, 
Hard to be overcome— the evil passions- 
Should manfully be fought ; who conquers these 
Is equal to the conqueror of worlds." 

The archaic Serpent (the "Satan" of the Hebraized text) is the 
Kakodaimon, Evil Genius, the passional (epithumetic) psychic 
principle which each man harbors in his own nature. Satan, as a 
malignant Deity, an omnipresent fiend of cosmic proportions, is but 
a creation of theological fancy. 

The age of Iesous is given in Luke as "about thirty years." As 
twenty-eight, or four sevens, it would refer mystically to the lower 
quaternary, or objective man. The "forty days" in the desert should 
also be a multiple of seven, as related to the septenates of forces. 
Six of the septenates (giving the number forty-two) are thus rep- 
resented as being liable to temptation, while the seventh is inhe- 
rently divine, and therefore sinless. 

The bad daimon is not finally vanquished : he departs "until the 
season," that is, until the next stage in the initiation, the four de- 
grees being likened to the four seasons of the year. For the temp- 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 49 

tations, in subtler forms, recur on each of the four planes of mani- 
festation, which are represented in zodiacal language by the four 
seasons. The disciple must conquer the evil powers at each of the 
first four stages of his upward progress. The three "temptations" 
of Iesous foisted in the text of Matthezv and Luke are too childish 
in conception to deserve serious consideration. 

4. The Four Companions— the Manifested Powers of the Nous 

Four Brothers of Iesous Become His Disciples 
[Mk. i. 14-20; iii. 17] 

Now, after he had been handed over to these ordeals by Ioannes, 
Iesous came into the upper country, proclaiming the divine Gnosis, 
and saying : 

"The season is ended, and the realm of the starry spaces has 
drawn near. Cleanse ye both mind and heart, and in the Gnosis put 
your trust." 

And walking along the shore of the sea, he saw two of his broth- 
ers, Andreas and Simon, spreading a dragnet in the sea; for they 
were fishermen. Said Iesous to them : 

"Hither! Follow my lead, and I shall make of you fishers of 
men." 

They at once left their net and went along after him. Going on 
a little further, he saw his brothers Ioannes and Iakobos, the "twin 
Sons of Thunder," who were in the ship. Them he summoned, and 
they left their father in the ship, and followed Iesous. 

COMMENTARY 

Having fulfilled his duties as the Hydranos, there is no further 
need of Ioannes in that capacity, and he drops out of the story. So 
far as the allegory is concerned, there is nothing mysterious about 
his disappearance; but to account for it "historically" a relation of 
his imprisonment and death has been worked into the text by some 
forger who had a hand in the work of falsifying the allegory. The 
same fable was also foisted in the text of Josephus (Antiquities, 



50 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

xviii. v. 2), with two other forgeries in which the orthodox Jewish 
historian is made to record the crucifixion and resurrection of 
Iesous, "the Christos," and the stoning to death of Iakobos, "the 
brother of Iesous who was called the Christos." That these, pas- 
sages are forgeries is apparent from the unskilful way in which 
they have been wedged into the text, aside from the improbability 
that an orthodox Jew would have written them. 

In each of the four degrees, or mystic seasons, the entire zodiac 
is traversed, making four minor stages ; while the northern and the 
southern course of the sun constitute the two six-month seasons of 
the year. Ioannes, the Lunar Lord, represents also the sun, and his 
"season" extends from the summer solstice to the winter solstice, 
from Cancer to Capricornus : by the lustration in the sacred stream 
Iesous progressed through the signs Cancer, Leo and Virgo, the 
Region of the River-God (along which lies Hydra, the Water- 
Serpent, the southern paranatellon of Leo) ; by the ordeal of "temp- 
tations" he progressed through the signs Libra, Scorpio and Sagit- 
tarius, the Region of the Earth-God, where are found the Dragon 
(the "archaic Serpent") and the Wild-beast, Therion (Lupus), two 
paranatellons of Scorpio; and so "the season [of shortening days] 
has come to its close," and the season of lengthening days begins. 
Here Iesous, as Lord of the new season, begins his "ministry." He 
assumes the mystic "Yoke" which lies across the ecliptic (the stars 
£, crand7r Aquarii, anciently called "the Yoke of the Sea" and "the 
Proclamation of the Sea"), and making his proclamation, he 
passes along the shore (Capricornus) of the celestial Sea and 
finds the two "fishermen," Andreas (Aquarius) and Simon (Pis- 
ces), in the Region of the Sea-God; "going on a little further" 
(that is, through Aries), he finds Ioannes (Taurus) and Iakobos 
(Gemini) "in the Ship" (Argo Navis), in the Region of the 
Sky-God. Thus he makes a complete circuit of the zodiac, re- 
turning to the starting-point, Cancer, of which the Ship is the 
southern paranatellon. The word tt\oiov (from irkelv, "to sail") 
is correctly rendered "ship" in the authorized version; and the 
revisers must have had "history," not Greek, in mind when they 
made the change to "boat." If they intended an emendation, 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 



5i 













Earth 

The Sun-God and His Twelve Companions 



"ark" would have been better, for the constellation 'Apya> was 
sometimes called kl^cjtos, and regarded as "Noah's Ark." It rep- 
resented the psychic body (silkshma sharlra) : for Noah it preserved 
the seed of all living beings; and for Iesous and his twelve com- 
panions, as also for Iason and his twelve companions, the Ship Argo 
was the appropriate craft for their celestial voyaging. In this alle- 
gory of the lustral rite, or self -purification, the signs are given in 
the order in which they are traversed by the sun on his annual cir- 
cuit; but when they are taken as symbolizing the forces and force- 
centres in man, the microcosm, the order is reversed, because the 
forces begin to energize at the lower centres. 



52 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

The four Companions of Iesous, the Nous, are his manifested 
noetic powers : the two who spread the dragnet are the perceptive 
and retentive faculties, or apprehension and memory; and the two 
in the celestial Ship are the contemplative and devotional faculties, 
or abstract thought and divine love. The four powers of the Nous 
have also other correspondences, when regarded as regents of the 
somatic divisions, the prams, etc. Ioannes and Iakobos, as person- 
ified electro-vital forces, are Ida and pingala, and in this aspect they 
are the twin Sons of Thunder: they are also called, in the Gos- 
pel "history," "the sons of Zebedee" ; Zebedee, however, is but a 
poor Hebraic substitute for Zeus the Thunderer, fipovrcuos, who 
is represented among the constellations by Cepheus, who may there- 
fore be said to be in the Ship with them. Kepheus ( from the Chal- 
daic Keph) is identical with Baal Tsephon, "Lord of the North," 
God of the Storm and of the Thunderbolt. These two disciples of 
Iesous are identical with the Dioskouroi ("Sons of Zeus"), Kastor 
and Polydeukes, who were among the twelve companions of Iason 
when he sailed in the Argo. 

In Matthew xiii. 55 and Mark vi. 3 the brothers of Iesous are 
named as Iakobos, loses (or Ioseph), Simon and Ioudas, and his 
"sisters" are mentioned. This is a list of the noetic disciples, Ioan- 
nes being thinly disguised as "loses," and Andreas being omitted. 
The seven psychic principles, which are "lunar" and may therefore 
be regarded as feminine, are the "sisters" of the Nous. This is 
not strictly orthodox, however, as six of the zodiacal signs are diur- 
nal and six are nocturnal, while the Olympic Immortals presiding 
over the signs are six Gods and six Goddesses; but inasmuch as 
Hermes, the Guardian-God of the sign Cancer, is considered an- 
drogynous, that is, both male and female, the Sun may be said to 
have five brothers and seven sisters in the family circle of the zodiac. 

Iesous Heals Simon's Wife's Mother— Subdues the 
Psycho-Mental Ebullition 

[Mk. i. 29-31] 

And these four, Simon and Andreas, and Iakobos and Ioannes, 
came with Iesous to Simon's house, Now, Simon's wife's mother 



54 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

was prostrated with a fever; and they spoke to Iesous about her. 
He came and took her by the hand, and raised her up. Immediately 
the fever left her, and she waited on them at dinner. 

COMMENTARY 

One of the many "historical" fictions which have been foisted in 
the text is the surnaming of Simon as Petros ( "Peter"). In Gala- 
tians (ii. n-14) Paulos tells of a certain Kephas, whom he de- 
nounced as a hypocrite and evidently looked upon as a charlatan. 
The word kephas is Chaldaic for "rock," and the name of this 
pseudo-teacher is frequently given in the Epistles in Greek form as 
Petros, "rock," or more properly, "stone." Whether or not this 
charlatan was the "rock" upon which the primitive Christian church 
was founded, he was such by tradition; and so, to give him pres- 
tige as one of the twelve disciples, his name has been tacked onto 
that of Simon. Certainly, from a humorous point of view, a hap- 
pier identification could not have been made. Simon, as Regent of 
the sign Pisces, which is polar to Virgo, the cosmic Mother, repre-. 
sents in one of his numerous aspects the phrenic or lower psychic 
mind, which is symbolized in the Apocalypse as the "Beast," Cetus, 
the southern paranatellon of Pisces. 

With the quickening of the psychic faculties, and the increased 
sense of freedom as the neophyte becomes conscious of planes of 
life beyond the narrow confines of physical existence, he is apt to 
be too exhilarated by the newness and strangeness of his experi- 
ences, and to become wrought up to a feverish state psychically by 
the exuberance of the nervous ether; it takes the sober touch of the 
higher reason to dispel the illusions consequent upon this abnormal 
state. 

The Fallen Woman Is Forgiven— The Devotional Faculty Clarified 

[Lk. vii. 37-47] 

As they reclined at table, a temple-woman, Mariam by name, who 
had found out that Iesous was dining at Simon's house, came bring- 
ing an alabaster flask of very precious scented oil, and standing 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 55 

behind at his feet, weeping, she bedewed his feet with her tears and 
dried them by wiping them with the hair of her head ; and she kissed 
his feet again and again, and anointed them with the oil. Then 
Simon whispered to Iesous : 

"Being a seer, you should have perceived what sort of a woman 
this is who is fumbling over you; for she 's a prostitute." 

Iesous answered him : 

"Simon, I have something to say to you." 

Said he : 

"Then say it, Teacher." 

Iesous continued : 

"A certain money-lender had two debtors; one owed him five 
hundred drachmas, and the other fifty. When they were unable to 
pay, he generously cancelled their debts. Which of them, there- 
fore, will love him most?" 

Simon answered : 

"I presume it would be the one for whom he cancelled the bigger 
debt." 

Iesous said to him : 

"Rightly have you decided." And turning toward the woman, 
he continued, addressing Simon: "You see this woman? I entered 
your house : you gave me no water for my feet, but she has rained 
tears on them and has wiped them with her hair; you gave me no 
kiss, but she, since she came in, has not* ceased from passionately 
kissing my feet; with oil you did not anoint my feet, but she has 
anointed them with oil sweetly scented. Because of this I say to 
you, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much." 

COMMENTARY 

Here Simon appears in his character as the discursive reason, 
cold, unsympathetic and undiscerning, while the repentant Mariam 
plays the part of the devotional nature, the sins of which, as re- 
vealed in the fanaticism and irrational emotionalism of exoteric re- 
ligion, are indeed many, but which has in it the redeeming quality 
of love. 



56 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

In Matthew and Mark this allegory has been hopelessly muti- 
lated by sanctimonious forgers, and Simon is disguised as "the 
leper." According to their version the woman, who is not described 
as a "sinner," anoints the head of Iesous, who thereupon explains 
that she has done so to prepare him for his burial ! But according 
to Luke she is a fallen woman, and she anoints the feet of Iesous — 
the allegorical meaning plainly requiring that it should be so. But 
in Luke Simon is cloaked as a "Pharisee." Mariam is not named 

in the story as given in the Synop- 
tics, but it is generally accepted 
that she is the fallen woman in 
Luke's version of it; while the 
-(supposedly) virtuous woman 
who anointed the head of Iesous 
is identified with the Mariam (the 
sister of Lazaros) who, according 
to John (xii. 3), anointed the feet 
R . of Iesous. But by thus applying 

the oil to his feet, and not to his 
head, she betrays her identity as the heroine of the story in Luke. 
Lazaros is a mythical personage unknown in the Synoptics. 
Mariam is called "the Magdalen," an epithet which clearly connects 
her with the worship of the Great Mother, Rhea, the Goddess with 
the mural crown; for magdalene is plainly "woman of a tower- 
temple" (magdal), and even if the word is taken in the gentile 
significance, "of Magdala," it broadly hints at the same thing, since 
a town of Magdala would have derived its name from the circum- 
stance that it contained a "tower" of the Goddess. Anointing the 
feet was a Greek custom. Thus Aristophanes (Wasps, 608) has 
Philokleon say, "My daughter washes me, and anoints my feet, and 
stooping over me gives me a kiss." 

The parable of the two debtors does not apply very neatly to the 
case of the Magdalen : the sins of the latter were forgiven because 
she loved much, whereas the debtor loved much because his debt 
was forgiven. Possibly this parable may have been added to the 
story by the compiler of Luke, who was singularly puzzle-headed. 




THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 57 

5. The Fifth Companion — the Creative Power of the Nous 

The Twin Brother of Iesous Becomes His Disciple 
[Mk. ii. 13, 14. Lk. v. 27, 28] 

And Iesous went forth again beside the sea ; and as he passed on 
he saw his twin brother Ioudas sitting among a group of friends, 
and said to him : 

"Come, follow me." 

And Ioudas rose up, and left all, and followed him. 

COMMENTARY 

Anciently the year began when the sun was in Aries, and the Ram 
was therefore the leader of the starry flock. The golden Ram is a 
symbol of the sun, and this is reduplicated in the sign. At the first 
point of Aries the sun, going northward, crosses the equator, and so 
appears to hang on the cross formed by the equator and the ecliptic. 
Hence the Regent of Aries (Ioudas) is the Crucifier of the Sun-God 
(Iesous), while the Regent of Pisces (Simon) is the carrier of his 
Cross. In the Apocalypse Iesous is called "the little Ram" (arniou) 
and has the martial aspect of Ares, who is domiciled in this sign. In 
John (xxi. 15) Iesous, while eating fish with his disciples, calls his 
followers "little rams" (arnia), and is himself called (i. 29) "the 
Lamb (amnos) of God, who carries the sin of the world." The sign 
Capricornus, the Goat-fish, which the sun enters at the winter sol- 
stice, is a composite reduplication of the Ram and the Fish, and the 
Sun-God was said to be born in this sign. Now, the six constella- 
tions extending from midwinter to midsummer represent, in the 
microcosmic zodiac, the forces of the inner man : the regent of the 
sign Capricornus is the primary tattva, centred in the mfdadhara 
chakra, its six differentiations being the regents of the six signs (in 
reverse order) from Sagittarius to Cancer; and the regents of the 
remaining five signs are the pranas, the solar "life-winds." These 
five noetic forces are the "brothers" of Iesous, the Nous. Ioudas 
personifies udana, the prdna that "goes upward to immortality," 
and being thus the occult creative power of the Nous (the Sun-God 



58 



THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 



Iesous), he is more intimately related to him than are the other four 
brothers, and is, allegorically, his twin. Simon and Andreas, and 
Ioannes and Iakobos, are also twins, and as such are inseparable. 

The northern paranatel- 
lon of Aries is Cassiopeia, 
whose "Chair" probably 
suggested the notion that 
Ioudas, when found, should 
be sitting; the constellation 
forms one of the notable 
family-group made up of 
Cepheus, Cassiopeia, An- 
dromeda and Perseus. 

The head of the so-called 
"Mystic Dionysos" (shown 
in the engraving here re- 
^ produced from Plate LV in 
Specimens of Antient Sculp- 
ture) is a composite symbol 
of the six zodiacal signs 
from Capricornus to Cancer : 
it has the claws of the Crab, 
which by their position 
represent also the horns of 
the Ram; it has the ears of 
the Bull, and the "dewlap" 
and loose, shaggy hair of 
the Goat; the hair appears 
wet, and the face and breast are partly masked by the leaves 
of an aquatic plant, thus giving the whole an Aquarian aspect; and 
out of the temples spring eels, symbolizing alike the Fishes and 
the Twins, since the eel, although it is a fish, resembles a serpent. 
The Twins symbolize, among other things, the positive and the 
negative currents of the serpent-force, the speircma, as do also the 
two serpents entwined on the central rod of the caduceus, or wand 
of Hermes. As is well known, the worshippers of Dionysos aspired 




Ancient Mystic Dionysos 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 59 

to become Dionysos. Through the mystic rite of crucifixion the 
Iesous of the sacred drama finally becomes the Lord Dionysos ; but 
from the very first he personifies Dionysos, and therefore in the 
astronomical rendering of the allegory he is identical with him. 

In the process of converting the allegory into a pseudo-historical 
narrative, Ioudas was made out to be a traitor ; but it seems that in 
the first instance his name was allowed to stand as that of the fifth 
disciple chosen by Iesous, the forgers being content to describe him 
as a tax-renter (telones) "sitting" at the tax-office." The officials 
who collected revenues were, as a class, regarded by the people 
with detestation. Later Ioudas was degraded from the rank of 
fifth disciple and his name was placed last in the list of the twelve ; 
hence his name was erased from the passage in which the fifth dis- 
ciple is called and the name "Matthew" substituted in Matthew, 
and "Levi" in Luke, and "Levi" or "Iakobos" in Mark; the forgers 
were evidently "inspired" with the same motive, but worked inde- 
pendently and made the manuscripts discordant. But this fictitious 
Matthew-Levi-Iakobos, thus inadvertently given the role of a de- 
testable tax-renter, is not mentioned again in the story : there is no 
place in the zodiac for a thirteenth sign. 

These five companions of Iesous are absolutely identical with the 
regents of the five pranas, "life-winds," of the Upanishads, the five 
"winds" (anemoi) of the Apocalypse. In the Apocalypse (vii. 1,2) 
four of these regents are said to stand at the four corners of the 
earth, holding the four winds, while the fifth regent ascends from 
the source of the sun, and has the signet-ring of the living God 
(the Sun-God) ; and again (ix. 14; x. 1) four of the regents are 
said to be bound at the great river Euphrates (the cerebro-spinal 
system), while the fifth, the "strong Divinity," is in a cloud (aure- 
ola), with a rainbow upon his head, his face shining like the Sun, 
and his feet like pillars of fire, and in his hand he holds a little book 
open — the secret teachings. In the Chhandogya Upanishad (hi. 
1-1 1 ) the Sun is said to have five rays, four extending towards the 
four quarters, and the fifth going upward. They proceed from, 
and spread around, the Sun, and are the nectars of the Gods. To 
four of them are ascribed respectively the four Fed as, while to the 



60 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

fifth are ascribed the secret teachings, which are "the nectar of nec- 
tars." Four of these rays are said to be forms of the Sun, the fifth 
being the pristine force within the Sun : prana, the "outgoing life- 
wind," is the Sun's ruddy form as it rises in the east (symbolizing 
physical birth) ; vyana, the "distributing life-wind," is the Sun's clear 
form at noon, its meridional or southerly aspect (symbolizing life 
at its prime) ; apana, the "downgoing life-wind," is the Sun's dark 
form as it sets in the west (symbolizing physical death) ; samana, 
the "uniting life-wind," is the Sun's very dark form at midnight, 
its northerly aspect (symbolizing the subjective life in the invisible 
world, between incarnations) ; and ndana, the "upgoing life-wind," 
which "throbs in the heart of the Sun," is the power that confers 
immortality. The four manifested powers are connected with the 
four castes, respectively; while the fifth power is that which sus- 
tains "the perfect," the spiritual men. The four quarters (zodiacal 
regions) are presided over by the Fire-God, the Sky-God, the 
Ocean-God and the Moon-God; while the central region is that of 
Brahma (the Logos). 

In the Iesous-mythos, Simon represents prana; Iakobos, vyana; 
Andreas, apana; Ioannes, samana; and Ioudas, adana: hence, as 
regents of the five regions, Simon rules the Leo-quarter; Iakobos, 
the Scorpio-quarter; Andreas, the Aquarius-quarter; Ioannes, the 
Taurus-quarter ; and Ioudas, the Solar centre. In the Chhandogya 
Upanishad (iii. 13) the five pranas are termed "the keepers of the 
gates of the heaven-world"; but in the garbled text of the Synop- 
tics (Matthew xvi. 19) Simon is given all the keys of heaven. 
Simon and Andreas correspond to morning and evening, east and 
west; and Iakobos and Ioannes, to noonday and midnight, south 
and north. The four thus answer to every quaternary in mani- 
fested nature; while Ioudas has to do with the occult, invisible 
aspect of nature. In the solar cult the Sun-God was said to be born 
at the winter solstice, and the sign Capricornus was therefore sup- 
posed to be peculiarly sacred to him; the birth of Iesous, as an 
"historical" event, is still commemorated when the Sun is entering 
that sign. The five succeeding signs, Aquarius to Gemini, extend- 
ing to the summer solstice, are ascribed to the five companions of 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 61 

Iesous; and as Aries is the place of the Sun's highest exaltation it 
is therefore the "house" of Ioudas, who represents the solar life- 
wind that "throbs in the heart of the Sun" and "goes upward to 
immortality." The remaining six signs, together with Capricornus, 
pertain to the seven tattvas, which are personified by the other com- 
panions of Iesous, his sisters, of whom Mariam the Magdalen (the 
only one named in the Synoptics) represents the tejas tattva. 

How Iesous Employed the Days and Nights— The Action of 
the Four Life-winds 

[Mk. i. 32-35] 
In the evening, at set of sun, they used to bring to Iesous all who 
were sick, and those who were possessed by evil spirits ; and at times 
't would seem that all the inhabitants of the city were congregated 
at his door. Many were the sufferers whom he healed of various 
diseases, many were the unclean spirits whom he expelled ; and these 
impure spirits he silenced, lest they might betray dark mysteries of 
the underworld. And very early, when the dawn-star heralded the 
coming of the sun, he used to rise up and depart to a place of soli- 
tude, there with the invisible Presences to commune. 

COMMENTARY 

The four manifested powers in nature rule the revolutions of the 
seasons and the lesser quaternary divisions. There is a distinct 
change in the electric atmosphere of the earth at sunrise, noon, sun- 
set and midnight, and these changes are clearly felt by any one sensi- 
tive to the subtile forces. In man the positive electro-vital forces 
prevail during the daytime, and the negative ones during the night. 
Toward the close of the day the body is more strongly charged with 
the positive solar force than at other times, and the force can there- 
fore be employed more efficiently in healing; and during the night 
the subjective nature is more active. In Greek mysticism. Sleep and 
Death were said to be twin brothers ; and this is more than mere 
poetical fancy. During deep sleep the soul is free for the time from 
the physical body, and passes into the psychic and spiritual worlds. 
The material brain receives no records of the soul's subjective ex- 



62 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

periences except those that may be impressed upon it at the moment 
of waking. 

The Paralytic Is Healed— The Action of the Fifth Life-wind 
[Lk. v. 17. Mk. ii. 2-5. Lk. v. 21. Mk. ii. 6. Lk. v. 21-25] 

And on one of those days he was teaching; and grouped about 
him were the orthodox and men of conventional learning, who had 
come from every village of the upper and lower countries, and from 
the sacred city. The rumor had spread that he was in his house, 
and many were congregated there, so that there was no more room 
for them, even at the door. Came four men to him, carrying a 
paralytic ; and when they could not bring him nearer to Iesous be- 
cause of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof over the room 
where he was, and they lowered through the opening the couch on 
which the paralyzed man was lying. And Iesous, seeing how they 
had surmounted all obstacles, said to the paralytic : 

"My son, by your sufferings you have atoned for your sins." 

The learned men and the orthodox began to argue in their hearts, 
subjectively, saying: 

"Who is this man who arrogates to himself divine authority? 
Who but God only can remit sins?" 

But Iesous, being aware of their thoughts, said to them in reply: 

"Why are you arguing in your hearts ? Which is easier, to say, 
'Your sufferings have atoned for your sins,' or to say, 'Arise and 
walk' ? But that you may know that the Son of the Celestial Man 
has power on earth to heal the body and to purify the soul"— he 
said to the paralytic— "I say to you, Arise, take up your couch and 
go to your house." 

And at once the man stood up before them, and taking up the 
couch to which he had been confined, he departed to his house. 

COMMENTARY 

The fifth life-wind, the up-going prana, has for its channel the 
sushumnd nadi, which extends to the Brahmarandra ("door of 
God") at the crown of the head. It is said that the soul passes 
through this "door" at the moment of death, and through it, during 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 63 

life, the spiritual influences enter. The ndana is almost dormant 
in the unpurified man, in whom the faculty of receiving spiritual 
intuitions is, so to say, paralyzed; and in this condition the "sins" 
of intuition are those of distortion, error of interpretation, over- 
credulity, and the like : the imperfectly developed faculty has to be 
sustained by the manifested four, and only at the command of the 
Nous can it move independently and proceed to its own mystic 
"house." 

The appellation 6 uios rov av0pco7Tov can not be taken as "the 
son of man" in the sense of mortality; Iesous is the Son of the 
"Grand Man," the Celestial Being symbolized by the forty-eight 
constellations, and when he becomes one with his Heavenly Father 
he is the Anointed King (Christ os) of the realm of the starry spaces 
—the full spiritual consciousness. 

6. The Banquet at the House of the Fifth Disciple— the 
Abode of True Knowledge 

The Twin Allegories of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin— The 
Spiritual Faculty Regained 

[Lk. v. 29-32; xix. 10. Matt, xviii. 12, 13. Lk. xv. 8, 9] 

Ioudas at his house entertained Iesous with a banquet ; and there 
reclined at table with them a crowd of tradesmen and others. And 
the orthodox and their men of learning kept grumbling in whispers 
at his disciples, saying : 

"Why do you eat and drink with swindling tradesmen and social 
outcasts?" 

Iesous answered them : 

"The sick, not the healthy, require a physician. I have come to 
exhort the erring, not the virtuous, to reform. For the Son of the 
Celestial Man has come to save the ruined and to seek the lost. 
What think ye? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them 
has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety and nine, and go upon 
the hills and seek for the one that has strayed? And when he has 
found it, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety and nine that 
strayed not. Or what woman, having ten silver coins, should she 
lose one of them, does not light a lamp and search carefully till she 



64 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

finds it ? And when she has found it, she calls together her neigh- 
bors and friends, saying, 'Congratulate me, for I have found the 
coin which I lost.' " 

COMMENTARY 

As the five noetic powers have their positive and negative aspects, 
they are often enumerated as ten, while their differentiated powers 
may, of course, be multiplied indefinitely. The forces of the incar- 
nated man are inverted ; and it is precisely the highest attributes of 
his nature that are most debased : his creative power is wedded to 
lust, and his devotional faculty is divorced from reason. 

The likening of a hardened sinner to a lost sheep would not be 
an apt similitude. Few men, however, have the ability to become 
purposely wicked ; sins are more generally due to weakness than to 
strength. The Greek word here used for "sin," hamartia, has for 
its root-signification "missing the mark" : it is sin in the sense of 
failure to do that which is right, or error of judgment. Here the 
similitude is an allegory within an allegory ; for "the ruined and the 
lost" are the finer faculties of individual man. 

Merely to avoid a literary oddity, the "tax-renters" of the text 
are here changed to "swindling tradesmen," as if reading KairrjXoi, 
"higglers," or petty retail dealers. 

The Allegory of the Prodigal Son— the Soul in the Cycle of Reincarnation 

[Lk. xv. 11-32] 

And he related an allegory : 

"A man there was who had two sons; and said the younger of 
them to his father : 

" ' Assign to me, Father, my proper share of the substance.' 

"So he apportioned to them the living. And not many days 
after, the younger son, having brought together all his possessions, 
wended his way to a distant land, and there he dissipated his sub- 
stance, leading the life of a profligate. Now, when he had spent 
his all, grim famine stalked throughout that land, and he had his 
first experience of utter poverty. He was driven to become a menial 
of one of the citizens of that land, and he sent him into his fields 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 65 

to feed swine. He used to long to allay the pangs of hunger with 
the carob-pods which the swine were eating ; but no one was gener- 
ous to him. And when he came to himself he said : 

" 'How many of my father's wage-workers have bread more 
than enough, and here I am dying for want of food! I shall arise 
and go to my father, and I shall say unto him, Father, I have sinned 
against my inner consciousness and in your esteem ; I am unworthy 
now to be called your son ; give me employ as one of your menials.' 

"And he arose and went to his father. Now, while he was yet 
far away, his father saw him, and his heart was thrilled, and running 
to him he fell on his neck and kissed him again and again. But 
the son said to him : 

" 'Father, against my inner consciousness and in your esteem 
have I sinned. I am now unworthy to be called your son.' 

"But the father said to his servants : 

" 'Bring out quickly the robe of first rank and invest him with 
it ; on his hand place the seal-ring of authority, and lace sandals on 
his feet. Fetch the fatted calf and slay it as a thank-offering; and 
let us celebrate with joyous feast, for this son of mine was dead and 
has come to life, was lost and is found.' 

"And they started in on their festivity. Now, the older son was 
in the field, and as he drew near, on coming back to the house, he 
heard festal music and dancing. Calling to him one of the servants, 
he inquired what was the occasion of these festivities. He answered 
him: 

" 'Your brother has returned, and your father has sacrificed the 
fatted calf, because he has regained him hale and hearty.' 

"Then the older son gave way to anger, and sullenly refused to 
go in. His father came out and tried to persuade him. But he an- 
swered his father : 

' 'Behold, I have worked like a slave for you for many a year, 
and never a command of yours have I transgressed ; yet you have 
never given me even a kid that I might feast joyously with my com- 
panions; but when this son of yours came back, after he had con- 
sumed your living with strumpets, you have killed in honor of him 
the fatted calf/ 



66 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

"But his father said to him : 

" 'My child, you are with me always, and everything of mine is 
yours; so 't was natural and becoming to celebrate with feasting 
and rejoicing because your brother was dead and is restored to life, 
was lost and is found.' 

COMMENTARY 

The allegory pictures the descent of the soul into the sphere of 
generation, where it dissipates its divine life-essence, until, at the 
lowest point of the cycle, it realizes the emptiness and misery of 
material existence; and then its reascent to the divine sphere when 
it has regained self-consciousness. When incarnated, the soul is 
spoken of as being dead ; its return to the house of the Father is its 
resurrection to life eternal. 

Iesous Banters the Conventionalists— the Immature Souls 
[Matt. xi. 16-19. Lk. vii. 31, 35; v. 33, 34] 

"But to what shall I liken the men of this generative sphere? 
They are like children sitting in the market-place, who call to their 
playmates : 

" 'For you the flute we merrily played, 

But you did n't dance with twinkling feet ; 
And when a mournful dirge we made, 
Your breast you did n't wildly beat.' 

"For Ioannes came neither eating flesh nor drinking wine; and 
they say, 'He 's possessed by a spirit.' The Son of the Celestial 
Man comes eating and drinking; and they say, 'Behold, he 's a glut- 
ton and a wine-drunkard, a boon companion of knaves and vaga- 
bonds.' And by all her disciples 'Learning' is held to be accurate!" 

They retorted : 

"The disciples of Ioannes fast often; so also do the followers of 
the orthodox priests. But yours keep eating and drinking." 

Said Iesous to them : 

"Can you make the friends of the bridegroom fast while the 
bridegroom is with them in the festal hall?" 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 67 

COMMENTARY 

Having superbly likened the awakened soul to a repentant prodi- 
gal son, Iesous humorously casts about for a similitude of the souls 
who are lost in the dream-like illusions of the lower life, and he 
finds it in the children, who, having no serious occupation, divert 
themselves by mimicking the joyful and the sorrowful proceedings 
of grow T n-up people. The juvenile jingle which he quotes alludes 
to childish pastimes imitative of festal dancing and funeral cere- 
monies. To the conventionalist, even if he is a man of learning, 
the psychic appears to be a person of unbalanced mind or a victim 
of superstition, the man spiritually exalted is a. mentally intoxicated 
visionary, and the unselfish humanitarian is an eccentric who dis- 
graces himself by associating with the lowly and the disreputable. 

Ioannes is spoken of as an ascetic, one engaged in subduing the 
desires of the physical nature ; while Iesous, who has passed through 
the preliminary purificatory discipline, quaffs deeply the wine of 
the spiritual life. Bakchos was sometimes described as the jovial 
God of wine, and sometimes his character was given as of the most 
exalted purity: owing to these inconsistent accounts of him, Dio- 
doros, Cicero and others supposed that several personages had been 
confounded together under the name of Bakchos. Indeed, the 
Semitic Dionysos, the God of Seership and Divine Inspiration, and 
fabled founder of the Mysteries, appears to have been confounded 
with the indigenous Hellenic Bakchos, who, as God of the Vine, 
represented the productive and generative principle in nature. 

Iesous terms his five disciples, or companions, according to the 
perverted text, "the sons of the bridechamber," the latter word 
probably being used, as in Matthew xxii. 10, for the hall in which 
the wedding feast took place; the same word, nymphon, was also 
a pagan term for a temple of Bakchos. The mystic marriage was 
celebrated in the Mysteries, and its meaning is beautifully elucidated 
in the Apocalypse. Here Iesous represents himself as the bride- 
groom and his disciples as his groomsmen; the word "sons," for 
attendants, in the falsified text, is used in an attempt to imitate 
Hebraic expressions. 



68 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

The Twin Allegories of the Patched Garment and the Old Wineskins— New 
Truths Too Vital for Old Organizations 

[Lk. v. 36. Mk. ii. 21. Matt. ix. 17. Lk. v. 39] 

And he related to them two other allegories : 

"No man sews a patch of uncarded cloth on an old cloak, for the 
stiff new patch tears off from the worn old cloth, and a worse rent 
is made; nor does the cloth so added harmonize with the old. Nei- 
ther do men put new wine into old w T ineskins, for if that is done the 
skins burst, the wine is spilled and the skins are ruined; but they 
put new wine into new-made wineskins, and both are preserved. 
And no man cares for new wine directly he has drunk the old ; for 
he says, 'The old is better.' " 

COMMENTARY 

An old religious organization, with its deteriorated faith, can not 
be made the proper vehicle of new truths, nor can its worn-out creed 
be harmoniously patched by the addition of new material represent- 
ing bolder beliefs. Truth itself is changeless ; it is only its varying 
forms of expression that may be termed new or old : the great 
philosophers and religious teachers are not originators, but trans- 
mitters; they only hand down the traditionary lore, adapting the 
form of statement to suit the requirements of each age. 

However, much that is brought forward as "new" by exoteric 
philosophers and religious sectarians is merely speculative and often 
untrue, and so does not appeal to the student who has gained insight 
into the ancient esoteric philosophy. 

The Enfeebled Woman Healed, and the Moribund Maiden Awakened— The 
Exoteric and the Esoteric Systems Revivified 

[Matt. ix. 18. Mk. v. 23. Lk. viii. 42. Mk. v. 24-27. Lk. viii. 44. Mk. v. 28. 
Lk. viii. 44. Mk. v. 29-40. Lk. viii. 53-55] 

While he was speaking these allegories to them, came the king- 
archon, ruler over all exoteric worship, and boAving low before him 
urgently entreated him, saying : 

"My little daughter is at the point of death : long has she lain in 
deathlike trance, and none can awaken her, nor can any nourish- 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 69 

ment pass her lips. I implore you to come and lay your hands on 
her, that she may be restored to life and health." 

Now, this little daughter, thus entranced and wasting away for 
want of food, was twelve years of age. Iesous went with him ; and 
a great crowd went along after Iesous, and jostled him. And a 
certain woman, who for twelve years had been drained of her vital- 
ity by an issue of blood, and had undergone many treatments by 
many physicians, until she had spent all her means, yet was in no 
way benefited, but rather grew worse, having heard the reports 
about Iesous, came in the crowd behind him and touched the hem 
of his mantle. For to herself she said : 

"If only his outer garment I touch, I shall be healed." 

And immediately her issue of blood ceased, and she felt in her 
body that she was healed of her infirmity. Iesous, perceiving sub- 
jectively that his exodic force had gone forth, instantly turned to 
the crowd behind him and said : 

"Who touched my outer garment ?" 

Said to him his disciples : 

"You see the crowd jostling you, and you ask, 'Who touched 
me?'" 

His gaze swept around to detect her who had caused this. But 
the woman, awed and trembling from the realization of her in- 
stantaneous cure, came and prostrated herself before him, and told 
him the whole truth. He said to her : 

"Daughter, your faith has saved you; go in peace." 

Even as he spoke, messengers arrived from the king-archon's 
house, saying: 

"Your daughter is dead. Why put the Healer to further 
trouble ?" 

But Iesous said to the king-archon : 

"Fear not; only retain your faith in me." 

And he permitted no one to accompany him save Ioudas, Iakobos 
and Ioannes. They reached the house of the king-archon ; and the 
scene it presented was one of uproar, the members of the household 
weeping and uttering piercing cries. Having entered, he said to 
them: 



70 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

"Why are you weeping and creating an uproar ? Death has not 
claimed the child; she is but clasped in the arms of slumber." 

But they, firmly convinced that she was dead, scoffed at him with 
mirthless laughter. But Iesous, grasping her hand, with ringing 
voice addressed her : 

"Awake, little maid!" 

And her soul returned, and immediately she arose; and he di- 
rected that something should be given her to eat. 

COMMENTARY 

In this rather elaborate allegory the little maid represents the eso- 
teric doctrine, and the woman the exoteric or popular religion. The 
tendency of a formulated system of belief is to lose its vitality; and 
the efforts of exoteric religious reformers and speculative theolo- 
gians to reinvigorate it, so far from renewing its strength, only 
serve to weaken it the more. Its moral force can be renewed only 
when it touches the outer robe of the higher consciousness. The 
esoteric knowledge also tends to die out in the world for lack of 
learners who are spiritually awake and capable of receiving it. The 
woman is said to have been suffering for twelve years, and the age 
of the little maid is given as twelve years; thus in each case the 
number of the psychic and spiritual forces is stated. The scoffing 
mourners, who are quite sure that the girl is dead, may be taken to 
be the agnostics and materialists, who regard religion as a corpse. 

By analogy, the woman and the little maiden may be taken to 
personify two stages in the intellectual life of the neophyte. For 
usually, in the quest for truth, the seeker begins by studying the 
various religious cults, only to find his faith diminishing rather 
than increasing because of his investigations ; while at the same time 
his intuitive faculty is too dormant for him to apprehend spiritual 
realities : so his soul slumbers until it is called back by the awaken- 
ing touch of the Self. 

It was the popular belief that the hem of a magician's cloak was 
especially charged with healing virtue, his prana, which is called in 
the text "his outgoing force" (rj cf avrov SiW/us). But when 
he goes to awaken the little maid, Iesous takes with him the three 



THE AXOIXTIXG OF IESOUS 71 

companions who correspond to the triple fire of the kundalini: 
Ioannes and Iakobos, "the two Sons of Thunder," representing Ida 
and' pingala, and Ioudas the central current, sushumna. In the 
falsified text Petros, the mythical patron saint of the church, has 
been substituted for the discredited Ioudas. Although the malady 
of the little maid is not named or described in the text, the state- 
ment of Iesous that ''she is not dead, but is sleeping,"' and his com- 
mand that she should be given food, may be taken as a sufficient 
diagnosis. 

The "archon of the synagogue," in the falsified text, is very prob- 
ably a pseudo-Jewish substitute for the Athenian king-archon, who 
was second of the nine chief magistrates and had charge of all pub- 
lic worship. 

7. The Voyage to the Place of the Abyss— the Psychic World 

Iesous Stills the Tempest— Brings the Psychic Forces to Equilibrium 
[Lk. viii. 22, 23. Mk iv. 37-39] 

Xow, it befell that on one of those days he went, at even-tide, on 
board the ship, his disciples accompanying him; and to them he 
said : 

"Let us pass over to the other side." 

They put out to sea. As they sailed, he fell asleep. A violent 
storm swept down upon the sea. and the waves broke over the ship, 
so that it was on the verge of foundering. But Iesous slept on. 
recumbent in the stern of the ship, his head resting on the cushion. 
His disciples awoke him, and said to him : 

"Save us, Captain : we are perishing!" 

He awoke, and reproved the wind, and to the sea he said : 

"Be quiet, and put a bridle on thy wrath." 

Then raging storm gave way to calm serene. 

COMMENTARY 

Having completed the twelve initial labors, by arousing the 
twelve forces symbolized by the twelve zodiacal signs, the neophyte 
has now become capable of conscious action in the psychic realm. 



.2 

u 



JO 

o 




THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 73 

the world of unequilibrated forces, which is often termed, in mysti- 
cal literature, "the sea," or deep of chaos. The "ship" in which he 
journeys is the subtile body, which is normally the vehicle of the 
soul when the physical body is asleep. Among the constellations it 
is represented by Argo Navis. The Argo, according to Greek myth- 
ology, was the first ship ever built. Iason, so runs the myth, when 
he became of age demanded his kingly crown, but before it was 
given him he was sent in quest of the golden fleece of the Ram. 
The Argo was built to contain fifty men (the round number for 
forty-nine), and in it Iason embarked with his twelve companions, 
among whom were Orpheus and the twins Kastor and Polydeukes, 
the egg-born sons of the Thunderer. When a violent storm threat- 
ened to sink the ship, Orpheus played on his harp and stilled the 
storm, and stars then glittered upon the heads of the twins. 

Iesous Expels the Unclean Spirits from the Tomb-dweller— 
Banishes the Elemental Self 

[Mk. v. 1, 2. Lk. viii. 27. Mk. v. 3-5. Lk. viii. 28, 30. Matt. viii. 29. 
Mk. v. 7. Lk. viii. 31-37. Mk. v. 17] 

To the other side of the sea they came, to a place where there is 
a great chasm. And when he had gone ashore from the ship, there 
met him a certain man, a native of that country, who was possessed 
by spirits and for a long time had gone unkempt and unclad, and 
had abandoned the homes of the living to dwell among the tombs 
of the dead. And now no one could place him under restraint, even 
with a chain; for often he had been fettered and chained, but the 
chains had been snapped by him, and the fetters shattered. No one 
was able to tame him. And always, night and day, he prowled 
among the tombs and in the hills, screaming and gashing himself 
w T ith stones. When he caught sight of Iesous, he ran to him, scream- 
ing hoarsely, and fell at his feet. Iesous asked him : 

"What is your name?" 

But the spirits, answering through the man, said : 

"What matters that to you? There is a throng of us, and our 
names are many. Have you come here to torment us before the 
season ?" 



74 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

For indeed many spirits had got into the man ; and they abjectly 
implored Iesous not to send them into the bottomless chasm. Now, 
there was a herd of many swine hard by, grazing on the hill; and 
the spirits entreated him to grant them permission to enter into 
them. He granted it ; and the spirits came out of the man and went 
into the swine. But the swine, rather than be possessed by these 
foul shades, rushed down over the precipitous shore-land into the 
sea and drowned themselves. When the swineherds saw what had 
taken place, they fled, and spread the report throughout city and 
country. The inhabitants went out to see what had happened; and 
when they found the man from whom the spirits had been expelled 
sitting clothed and restored to sanity at the feet of Iesous, they re- 
garded Iesous with superstitious fear. Then the entire populace, 
who were worshippers of spirits, were angered at the loss of both 
the swine and the spirits, and they urged Iesous to depart from their 
borders. So he went aboard the ship, and left that land. 

COMMENTARY 

There is a principle in man's nature which is even more gross 
than the physical body, though less material; and this is the ele- 
mental self, that part of him which after death becomes the "ghost," 
or "unclean spirit," and which during life may be regarded as his 
evil genius. In it are centred the animalistic tendencies and impure 
desires ; and as a psychic entity, during the life of the physical body, 
as well as after the death of the latter, it is, on its own plane, the 
associate of evil spirits, a haunter of graveyards. It is a principle 
that may be purified and subjugated, becoming then an element of 
strength; but if it becomes irredeemably evil it is doomed to the 
"abyss," to annihilation. 

The reference in the text to the Abyss, or bottomless chasm, in 
connection with the herd of swine, and the curious statement that 
the pigs "were choked in the sea" — for the verb used was rarely 
employed to signify drowning— are reminiscent of the "mystic 
pigs" which, in the Thesmophorian Mysteries, were thrown into 
underground caves or vaults in commemoration of the lost swine 
of Eubouleus. When Plouton seized Persephone to carry her away 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 75 

to the underworld, so runs the myth, a swineherd named Eubouleus 
was herding swine at that very place, and the swine were engulfed 
in the chasm down which the 
netherworld God vanished with his 
fair captive. The story told in the 
Gospels has suffered the loss of its 
point, no reason being given for 
the suicide of the pigs, and no 
plausible reason being suggested 
for the entreaty of the people that 
Iesous should depart from their 
borders. But, obviously, the spirits, 
who desired to possess the bodies 
of the pigs, would not have insti- 
gated the swine to drown them- 
selves; the swine, unlike the pos- 
sessed man, refused to harbor the 
unclean spirits. It is a satire on 
spiritualism. The vaults used in 
the Thesmophoria, into which pigs 
were thrown to stifle (though usu- 
ally only clay images of pigs were 
employed), were called megara 
(also magara) ; and possibly this 
combination of letters may have 
had some influence on the mind of 
the forger who invented the word 
Gadarenos. The text speaks of 
"the country of the Gadarenes" 

(with playful variations, as "Gerasenes" and "Gergasenes") ; but 
no country named Gadara existed, and although there was a city of 
that name, the metropolis of Persea, it was some miles inland. 

The words "before the season," as also "until the season" in the 
passage about the temptation, are significant. The zodiacal regions, 
corresponding to the seasons of the year, had each its Regent. 
Plouton ruled the Scorpio-quarter. 




Plouton and Persephone 



76 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

II 

THE INITIATION BY AIR- SPIRITUAL 
DEGREE; STELLAR 

i. Iesous Appoints Forty-eight Disciples— the 
Forty-eight Constellations 

The Twelve Companions Are Chosen and Assigned to Their Thrones— 
The Zodiacal Constellations and Their Signs 

[Matt. v. i. Mk. iii. 13, 14, 16-19. Matt. xix. 27-29. Lk. xviii. 29. Matt. v. 14. 
Lk. xi. 33. Matt. v. 15. Lk. xi. 34. Mk. iv. 24. Lk. viii. 17, 18] 

Iesous ascended the sacred mountain ; and when he was seated, 
there, his disciples came to him. And he appointed twelve to be his 
companions: his five brothers — Ioannes and Iakobos, who are as 
the forked lightnings of the shining cloud ; Andreas and Simon, 
who are as its reverberating thunders; and Ioudas, who is as the 
thunderbolt that strikes — and his seven sisters, whom he likened to 
the seven rainbow hues. Then Simon spoke up, and said to him : 

"Behold, we have renounced all, and have followed you. What, 
then, are we to obtain?" 

Said Iesous to them : 

"When, after the new birth, the Son of the Heavenly Man shall, 
be seated on his effulgent throne, you who have followed me shall 
also sit upon your twelve thrones and rule over the twelve celestial 
houses. Every one who has renounced his earthly house and all 
material possessions in his quest for the realm of the starry spaces 
shall receive in that realm celestial a house and possessions vastly 
larger, and shall have share in the life supernal. In man is the light 
of the universe. But no one, when he has lighted a lamp, secretes 
it in the cellar or under a bushel ; but he puts it on the lampstand, 
and it shines for all who are in the house. The lamp of the body is 
the 'single eye' ; therefore when that eye is open the whole body is 
bathed in light, but when it is atrophied the body is shrouded in 
darkness. If, then, your inner luminary is extinguished, how dense 
is the darkness ! But nothing is latent that shall not become mani- 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 



77 



fested, nor is anything obscure that 
shall not be investigated and come 
to be obvious. Take heed, therefore, 
how you hear : by the rule which you 
use in measuring will truth be meas- 
ured to you again, and to you who 
understand greater 
wisdom will be added; 
for to him who has 
shall truth be given, 
and from him who has 
not shall be taken 
away even that which 
he imagines he has." 

COMMENTARY 

The Mount Olympos of mythol- 
ogy, with its cloud-land gate, sym- 
bolized terrestrially the zodiac in the 
heavens, its encircling peaks corre- 
sponding to the zodiacal signs ; so 
the six Gods and six Goddesses 
who sat upon the twelve peaks of 
Olympos are the Guardians of the 
tw r elve zodiacal signs, and according 
to the ancient Hellenic arrangement 
they are allotted to the signs in pairs 
of opposites, as follows : 




Athena 



Gemini (Didymoi) . ■ 


Apollon 


Sagittarius (Toxotes) 


. Artemis 


Taurus (Tauros) . . 


Aphrodite 


Scorpio (Skorpios) 


. Ares 


Aries (Krios) 


Athena 


Libra (Chelai) . . 
Virgo (Parthenos) 


. Hephaistos 
. Demeter 


Pisces (Ichthyes) . . 


Poseidon 


Aquarius (Hydrochoos) 


Hera 


Leo {Leon) . . . 


. Zeus 


Capricornus (Aigokeros) 


Hestia 


Cancer (Karkinos) 


. Hermes 



But in the Iesous-mythos the Guardians of the five signs Gemini, 
Taurus, Aries, Pisces and Aquarius are males, and the Guardians 
of the remaining seven signs are females. To meet this condition 



78 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Athena must exchange places with her polar opposite, Hephaistos, 
and so also of Aphrodite and Hera, while Hermes, the androgynous 
Deity, must wear a female aspect. Thus arranged, Andreas corre- 
sponds to Zeus, Simon to Poseidon, Ioannes to Ares, Iakobos to 
Apollon, and Ioudas to Hephaistos. Ioudas, presiding over the sign 
in which the Sun on its ecliptic path crosses the equator at the ver- 
nal equinox, is necessarily the agent of the crucifixion, even as 
Hephaistos, artificer to the Gods and forger of thunderbolts, riveted 
Prometheus to the rock. In the task of crucifying the Seer Prome- 
theus, Hephaistos Avas assisted by Kratos ("Strength") and Bia 
("Force"), the three personifying the triple divine fire. 

The Synoptics name all the twelve companions as men (the primi- 
tive "Christians" being fanatically prejudiced against women) ; but 
none of the seven substitutes for the sisters are mentioned by name 
anywhere else in the text. As described in the reconstructed passage 
above, the five brothers (pranas) are referred to the kundalini 
(vital electricity), and the seven sisters (tattvas) to the colors of 
the solar spectrum. 

Simon, in his character as the discursive reason, is satirized : he 
has renounced everything — in expectation of a reward for so doing! 
Yet there is more than satire in this : it expresses a profound truth. 
Looking for a reward is but a form of covetousness, even though 
the reward desired is a spiritual one. The perfect renunciation of 
all that pertains to the lower life, of all that is ignoble, that con- 
stricts and dwarfs character, must make for entire unselfishness: 
the larger life is not to be attained by him who strives for it with 
selfish or covetous motives. Yet even when the neophyte imagines 
that he has killed out this tendency to look for a reward for right- 
conduct, it springs to life in subtler form, and on closer introspec- 
tion he finds that he has unconsciously been entertaining the hope 
of a spiritual recompense. 

The earthly house is, of course, the physical body, and the celes- 
tial one the "solar body," which is undying; but, as allotted to the 
twelve companions of the Sun-God, the twelve celestial houses are 
the twelve divisions of the starry heavens which in conventional 
astrology are formed by drawing great circles through the north 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 79 

and south poles of the horizon, in the same way that meridians pass 
through the terrestrial poles. 

The saying in Matthew v. 14, "Ye are the light of the world/' 
applied to the disciples, is misleading; the true light is Iesous, the 
Nous, though the disciples are, as it were, rays diverging from that 
light. The mystic "eye" of the seer, as the organ of spiritual per- 
ception, is the manifesting centre of the light. Whether a man is 
broad or narrow minded depends upon himself; he sets his own 
limitations in the search for truth. He who has intuitive wisdom 
continues to receive it in larger measure ; but he who has it not must 
forsake false learning, must part with the illusory knowledge which 
he mistakes for wisdom, before he can receive the elementary teach- 
ings of the sacred science. 

The Thirty-six Hermaic Couples Are Chosen and Sent 
Forth — the Paranatellons 

[Lk. x. 1; vi. 13; x. 1, 2. Mk. vi. 8. 9. Lk. x. 4-11. Matt. x. 16. Lk. ix. 6] 

The Master next appointed seventy-two other disciples, whom he 
named "Messengers of Love"; and he sent them two by two before 
his face to every city and place where he himself was about to come. 
To them he said : 

"Heavy is the crop to be harvested, but the reapers are few. 
Therefore implore the Goddess of Tillage to send reapers to the 
harvest. For your journey take nothing save a wand and a purse ; 
go shod with sandals, wear only one tunic, and delay not to talk 
with loafers on the way. In whatever house you shall first enter 
say, 'Peace to this house!' If a lover of peace be there, on that 
house your peace will rest; but if not, it will return to you. Abide 
in that same house, and pay your host from your well-filled purse : 
go not from house to house as do religious mendicants. And in 
whatever city you may enter, and its inhabitants honor you, accept 
their hospitality, and with your magic wand heal the sick in that 
city, and say to the citizens, 'The King of the starry spaces has 
drawn near to you.' But in whatever city you may enter, and its 
citizens do not extend you hospitality, go out into its streets and 
say, 'Even the dust from your city which has adhered to our feet 



8o 



THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 



we wipe off against you ; but know this, that the King of the starry 
spaces has drawn near.' Go, now, bearing my message. Behold, 
I am sending you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves : therefore 
be ye as crafty as the serpents of Hermes and as nnvenomed as 

the doves of 
Aphrodite." 
And the 
paired im- 
personators 
of Hermes 
and Aphro- 
departed, and passed 
through the cities, bear- 
ing the message of his 
coming; and everywhere 
they sought reapers for 
strengthened 




and 



the weak and healed the sick. 

COMMENTARY 

In the historicized text the twelve 
companions and the seventy-two messen- 
gers have been intentionally confused. 
The twelve are wrongly called "apostles." 
An apostolos is simply a messenger, "one 
who is sent forth." Now, the twelve dis- 
ciples, as regents of the zodiacal signs, may 
be said to accompany the Sun-God, while 
the seventy-two disciples, as regents of the 
Hermes paranatellons, are very properly called mes- 

sengers, as they go out into the extra-zodi- 
acal spaces. Each decanate, or third part of a zodiacal sign, contain- 
ing ten degrees, has a corresponding constellation reduplicating the 
sign; thus there are thirty-six of these paranatellons, each of them 
related to ten degrees of the zodiac. In the allegory these thirty- 
six constellations symbolize the differentiated noetic powers, and 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 81 

as the latter have both positive and negative aspects, the personified 
forces are enumerated as seventy-two disciples who are sent out as 
male-female pairs. Each of these couples consists of a Hermes and 
an Aphrodite, being thus a potency of conjoined Thought and Love. 
Hermes, the interpreter and messenger of the Gods, bore a serpent- 
twined wand and a purse, and was clad in a light tunic and shod 
with winged sandals. The serpent was sacred to him, and the dove 
was sacred to Aphrodite. In the falsified text the messengers are 
told, in Matthew and Mark, to take no money in their purses, and, 
in Luke, to carry no purse : they are to eat what is offered them, 
without paying for it, but are to heal the sick. The favorite maxim 
of parasitic priests is quoted, "The laborer is worthy of his hire" — 
or, as it is given in Matthew, "his food." But these messengers are 
sent out to employ reapers for the harvest-field, and are not re- 
ligious mendicants; they carry a purse from which to pay their 
travelling expenses, and a wand (caduceus) with which to heal the 
sick. Mystically they are the loving thoughts of the Sun-God sent 
out into all the stellar spaces to herald the coming of the King: 
that is, the divine influences of the Nous pervade even the remotest 
recesses of the pure man's being, everywhere healing with the touch 
of love and inspiring to wisdom with the golden wand of intuition. 



2. Iesous and the Twelve Take an Outing — The 
Midsummer Peace of the Soul 

The Loaves and Fishes Multiplied — The Planetary Influences 
Distributed among the Stellar Spaces 

[Mk. vi. 30-34. Lk. ix. 12. Matt. xiv. 16. Lk. ix. 13, 14. Mk. vi. 39, 40. 

Lk. ix. 15-17] 

But the twelve companions of Iesous clubbed together for an out- 
ing, and he said to them : 

"Let us go off by ourselves to a lonely spot and recruit our 
strength a little." 

So they went away by themselves in the ship to a secluded spot. 
But the crowds saw them going, and hurried to the place afoot and 
thronged about Iesous. His heart went out to the untaught rabble, 



82 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

who are oppressed and downtrodden by the rich and powerful, even 
as sheep are scattered and torn by wolves, and he welcomed them 
and taught them many noble truths. And when the clay was draw- 
ing to its close, the twelve disciples came to him and said : 

"Dismiss the crowd, that they may go to the surrounding vil- 
lages and country, and buy themselves food; for w r e are here in a 
desert place." 

But he said to them : 

"They need not go; you should give them something to eat." 

They answered him : 

"Five loaves and two fishes are all that we have; and there are 
forty-nine hundred people here." 

Said he to the companions : 

"Arrange for them to recline on the greensward in forty-nine 
groups of a hundred each." 

They did so, and had them all recline on the tender greensward, 
in mess-parties, and in their bright-colored garments they looked 
like flower-beds in a garden. Then Iesous took the five loaves and 
the two fishes, and letting his gaze circle the celestial vault, he in- 
voked the blessing of the seven planetary Gods upon them, and 
broke them in fragments, which he gave to the twelve companions 
to set before the multitude. They ate, and all had their fill ; and the 
left-over fragments which were gathered up filled twelve baskets. 

COMMENTARY 

The five loaves symbolize the five male planets, and the two fishes 
the two female ones, Venus and the Moon, or Aphrodite and Selene. 
The planetary influences permeate all the celestial spaces occupied 
by the forty-nine constellations, besides filling their own especial 
domiciles, the twelve zodiacal signs. A particular planet governs 
each sign ; but every sign contains twelve minor signs, which again 
are allotted to the seven planets. 

In relating the planets to the signs the system begins with Can- 
cer, at the summer solstice. Cancer and Leo, the two signs nearest 
to the solar position at midsummer, are assigned respectively to the 
Sun and the Moon ; the two next highest signs are made the domi- 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 83 

cile of Mercury, the planet nearest to the Sun, and so on, Saturn, 
the last and farthest planet, being allotted to Capricornus and Aqua- 
rius, the two signs polar to Cancer and Leo. The "desert place" 
where Iesous multiplies the loaves and fishes is therefore Cancer, 
which was anciently called "the dark constellation," as it contains 
no brilliant stars. It is the great northern "gate" ; here Ioannes lus- 
trated the candidates who personified the forces of the four somatic 
divisions, and here Iesous started on his first circuit of the zodiac. 
The second circuit is also begun at this point : the multiplication of 
the loaves and fishes has the same meaning, though applied to a 
higher plane, as the lustral rite of Ioannes. The "desert" of the 
temptation of Iesous, however, is not Cancer but Scorpio, which is 
likewise a "dark" sign, though containing the conspicuous red star 
Antares ("equal to Ares") : and as Antares is considered an "evil" 
star, it may well be associated with the "ancient Serpent" (Drakon) 
and the "Wild-beast" (Therion), the paranatellons of Scorpio. 

The Seventy-two Messengers Return Exulting— The Downfall 
of the Serpent 

[Lk. x. 17-20] 

The seventy-two impersonators of Hermes and Aphrodite re- 
turned with joy, saying: 

"Master, even the good genii are subject to us in your name!" 

Said he to them : 

"I beheld the Evil Genius, the archaic Snake, with all his hateful 
brood, falling from the sky and by the lightning lashed : thus hurled 
from heaven, he now prowls on earth. But you he can not harm ; 
for I have given you power to conquer him and to destroy the scor- 
pions of desire. Nevertheless, do not rejoice merely because the 
good genii, the Demigods, are subject to you; but rejoice because 
your mystic names are written in the starry spaces." 

COMMENTARY 

The expulsion of the serpent by the seventy-two, in this second 
act of the drama, parallels the triumph over the serpent in the first 
act, when Iesous was tempted in the desert. In the second conquest 



84 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

in the Apocalypse Michael (Hermes) likewise hurls the ancient 
serpent from the sky. The mystic Guide in the Apocalypse is 
Hermes. His "rod" (caduceus) signifies the triple serpent-fire. 
The vine-wrapped narthex of Dionysos, with its pine-cone (a symbol 
of the conarium, the "third eye"), has the same meaning. 

The "names" which "are written in the skies" are those of the 
thirty-six ancient extra-zodiacal constellations, twenty-one of them 
being in the northern hemisphere and fifteen in the southern. 

3. Iesous Explains the Conditions of Discipleship — 
the Necessary Qualifications 

The Neophyte's True Home Is Not on Earth 
■ • [Matt. viii. 19, 20] 

Came a lone man of learning and said to him : 
"Teacher, wherever you go I shall follow you." 
Said Iesous to him : 

"The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests; but 
no place to lay his head has the Son of the Heavenly Man." 

COMMENTARY 

Fortunate is the man who has a well-disciplined mind, amply 
stored with wholesome ideas and useful knowledge. But it is 
nevertheless true that arbitrary systems of education, based on in- 
adequate or erroneous conceptions of what constitutes knowledge, 
lead almost inevitably to the disproportionate development of the 
lower intellectual faculties, to the sacrifice of the loftier powers of 
intuition, independent analytic and synthetic thought, philosophic 
reason and creative imagination. If mere learning is mistaken for 
wisdom, the mind is made a storehouse of unrelated facts, incom- 
patible theories and useless intellectual curios. Indeed, the exclu- 
sive cultivation of the brain-consciousness, when carried to the ex- 
treme, results in the extinction of all the nobler faculties of the soul 
and the utter loss of the power of spiritual cognition. The ranks 
of the few real aspirants for wisdom are recruited more from the 
uncultured but normally right-minded people than from the abnor- 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 85 

mally cultured conventional scholars. The "lone man of learning" 
who offers himself as a disciple stands out conspicuously among 
the many followers coming from the lowlier classes. The condition 
of discipleship laid down for him is that he must abandon all the 
comfortable homes of thought, that is, all crystallized creeds, for- 
mal systems of knowledge and fixed schools of philosophy; for the 
true disciple must become intellectually a world-wanderer, who calls 
no place his home until he reaches Wisdom's eternal habitation. 

The Neophyte Must Renounce All Earthly Ties and 
Entertain No Lingering Regrets 

[Matt. viii. 21, 22. Lk. ix. 61, 62; xiv. 26. Matt. x. 34. Lk. x. 51. 
Matt. x. 35-37- Lk. ix. 23, 24] 

Another would-be disciple also said to him : 

"Master, give me leave first to go and bury my father." 

But Iesous said to him : 

"Follow me, and leave 'the dead' to bury their own dead." 

Said also another : 

"I shall follow you, Master; but give me leave first to bid fare- 
well to the folks at my home." 

But Iesous said to him : 

"No one who, having laid his hand on the plow, keeps looking 
at the things that are behind, is qualified for the realm of the starry 
spaces. If any one comes to me and yet cares less for me than he 
does for his father, mother, wife, children, brothers and sisters, yea, 
his own psychic self even, my disciple he can not be. Think not 
that I have come to sow peace on the earth; I have come to sow, 
not peace, but dissension. For I have come to sever the mortal 
from the immortal ; and ties of family bind man to earth. Unwor- 
thy of me is he who loves father and mother more than me. Un- 
worthy of me is he who loves son or daughter more' than me. If 
any man would be my disciple, let him renounce his lower self, and 
day by day sustain his cross, and follow me. For whosoever longs 
to save his psychic life shall lose it in the gloom of Erebos ; but 
whosoever shall lose his psychic self for my sake shall find it in 
the World of Light. 



86 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

Those who are concerned wholly with the things of the material 
life, their consciousness not extending to the higher realm, are 
termed "the dead." He who would attain the immortal life must 
extinguish all desire for the mortal : he can not become deathless 
while he retains in himself the efficient ^cause of death and birth — 
the psychic longing for carnal existence. He must forsake the 
generative sphere if he would become a dweller in the divine world. 
But this does not mean that he is to desert humanity, or cease to 
love those who in the cycle of generation have been closely related 
to him ; on the contrary, his love must expand to utter unselfishness 
until he includes all sentient beings in his broad compassion. 

The word \pvxv> nere rendered "psychic life," has no exact equiv- 
alent in English. Its range of meanings includes the entire psychic 
nature, namely, the psychic body with its organs of sensation and 
action, the vital forces, the animal instincts, and the lower mental 
faculties. Intermediate between the material nature and the spir- 
itual, it participates in both the mortal and the immortal. In it is 
centred the evanescent personal self, or egoity, which is a reflection, 
so to say, of the true Ego, the Nous. If in its nobler aspect it is 
merged or "lost" in the noetic selfhood it is preserved; but if by the 
constricting quality of selfishness it becomes detached from the 
higher consciousness and isolated as a sort of spurious individuality 
it becomes w T holly mortal and must eventually perish. 

The Neophyte Should First Determine Whether He Is Prepared 
to Make the Renunciation 

[Lk. xiv. 28-34. Matt. v. 13] 

"Therefore, first consider what is required of a disciple. For 
which of you, designing to build a castle, does not first sit down and 
make an estimate of its cost, to find out whether or not he has funds 
for completing it ? Else, when he has laid a foundation and is un- 
able to finish the structure, all beholders should ridicule him, saying, 
This man began to build, but was unable to finish.' Or what king, 
ere going to engage another king in war, does not sit down first 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 87 

and take counsel whether he, with ten thousand warriors, is able to 
meet the foe who is coming against him with twenty thousand? If 
not, he '11 quite surely be sending an embassy and suing for terms 
of peace, while the foe is yet in the distance. So, then, no one of 
you who does not bid farewell to all his possessions, material and 
intellectual, can be my disciple. Intellectuality, like spice, is an ex- 
cellent thing; but if the spice has become insipid, with what shall it 
be flavored ? It no longer serves any useful purpose, and is thrown 
away. 

COMMENTARY 

These teachings are for those only who are ready to devote them- 
selves wholly to the sacred science. Before the disciple can place 
his feet upon the path that leads to immortality he must cease to 
desire the things that belong to the lower life. Before making the 
renunciation of worldly things, he should be sure of his motives and 
of his ability to tread the path he wills to follow. 

The passage concerning the "salt" which, by some reaction un- 
known to chemistry, has "lost its savor," is here freely paraphrased : 
"salt" is evidently employed for wit or intellectual brilliancy. 

The Neophyte Should Fix His Thought on the Highest, and Not Rely on 
Rules for Psychic Development 

[Matt. vi. 24, 25. Lk. xii. 23. Matt. vi. 27. Lk. xii. 26. Matt. vi. 28-30, 33] 

"No man can serve two masters whose interests are opposed : for 
if he is faithful to the one he is unfaithful to the other. You can 
not serve Zeus and Plouton. Therefore I say to you, Do not keep 
your mind concentrated on the requirements of the psychic self, as 
to what food is best for its development, nor yet on the physical 
body, with what raiment you should clothe it. Is not purity of the 
psychic self more important than the food, and cleanliness of the 
body more important than the fashion in which it is clothed ? Which 
of you can, by mental concentration, increase by a single foot his 
physical stature? If, then, you can not control the smallest of the 
life-centres, why concentrate your mind on the rest? And why let 
the subject of raiment occupy your mind? Consider the lilies of 



THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 



the field, how they. grow: they toil not, neither do they spin; but I 

say to you, The great king himself, in all his glory, was not arrayed 

like one of these. But if the All-Father thus in beauty robes the 

wild flowers that to-day 

are fragrant and many- 

hued, and to-morrow are 

withered away, shall he 

not clothe you in fadeless 

robes of splendor when 

you enter into his eternal 

realm? Therefore, seek 

first the Father's realm, 

and all these glories shall 

be yours. 

COMMENTARY 




The compilers of the 
Gospels, being ignorant 
of the esoteric meanings 
in the text, have system- 
atically degraded them 
from higher to lower lev- 
els, from the psychic and 
spiritual to the merely 
material ; and, unfortu- 
nately, their work has 
been carried still further 
by the orthodox transla- 
tors. Thus this portion 
of the discourse of Iesous 

has been made to treat of the needs of the physical body, food 
and raiment, whereas it really refers to the rules of asceticism 
laid down for neophytes who are in the psychic stages of training. 
Irrelevant matter has also been inserted, as Matthew vi. 26: "Con- 
sider the birds of the sky, that they do not reap, nor do they gather 



Plouton Enthroned 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 
into granaries; and your heavenly Father feeds them." 



89 



This is 

stated far more beautifully in the Hitopadesa: "Be not anxious for 
subsistence : it is provided by the Creator. When the child is born 

the mother's breasts flow 
with milk. He who 
clothed the birds with 
their bright plumage will 
also clothe you." 

Finding no satisfactory 
substitute for Plouton in 
the Hebrew scriptures, 
the compilers evidently 
adopted Mamonas from 
some other source. The 
simile of the lilies has also 
suffered from the pen of 
the forger, who, not con- 
tent with introducing the 
mythical King Solomon, 
has so abridged the pas- 
sage as to make it refer 
merely to the clothing of 
the physical body. Here 
Zeus is not the Olympian 
Deity but the Supreme 
Spirit ; and Plouton is the 
"Subterranean Zeus," 
Zeu? KaTOJ)(96vio<s, as he 
is called by Homer {Iliad, 
ix. 457), or "Stygian Ju- 
as Vergil calls him {TEneid, iv. 638). The full antithesis 
would be peculiarly Greek : "You can not serve both the Heavenly 
and the Subterranean Zeus." Who or what "Mamonas" was is 
unknown. A man can not, while subject to his elemental self, that 
psychic principle in his nature that belongs to the realm of Plouton, 




Zeus Enthroned 



piter, 



90 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

the underworld God, be truly devoted to his inner God. Without 
ceaseless aspiration to reach his Heavenly Self, all lesser purifica- 
tions are of no avail. The ascetic may abstain from eating flesh and 
drinking* alcoholic stimulants, and wear the orange-yellow robe of 
the oriental devotee, but still be morally unworthy and psychically 
impure. 

The "smallest of the life-centres" referred to is the pituitary 
body, which, as modern physiologists have demonstrated, governs 
the growth of the physical body. It is by concentrating the mind 
upon this organ that the forces in the brain are liberated and the 
"single eye" opened, giving the inner sight. 

The Neophyte Should Beware of False Guides, and Keep 
to the Small Old Path 

[Matt. vii. 15; xv. 14. Lk. vi. 40. Matt vii. 13, 14. Lk. xi. 9, 10] 

"Beware of pseudo-seers, who come to you in guise of lambs, but 
who in their inner nature are rapacious wolves. And follow not 
the exoteric priests: blind leaders of the blind are they. And if a 
blind man leads a blind man, the two of them fall into the ditch. 
The disciple is not superior to his teacher; but every one when his 
character is moulded will be like his teacher. Pursue the straitened 
path that rises to the golden gate at heaven's height. For the way 
to Plouton's realm is broad and easy of descent, and through his 
great gate, which day and night stands open, 'the many' enter when 
they pass from earth; but the small old path that leads to life eter- 
nal goes steeply upwards, and they who reach its golden gate are 
few. Ask, and the gift of seership shall be yours; seek, and you 
shall find the small old path ; knock, and to you the golden gate shall 
open. For every pure disciple who keeps asking receives the holy 
power, who keeps seeking finds the path, and who knocks has the 
gate opened to him. 

COMMENTARY 

One of the greatest dangers the aspirant for occult knowledge 
must guard against is that of being misled by the charlatans who 
in every age pursue their nefarious propaganda and lead their dupes 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 91 

to moral ruin. The neophyte should use the utmost caution until 
he is able to discriminate between the true and the false. He should 
instantly reject the overtures of those who propose to teach the 
sacred science for pay, and stand aloof from all who delve into 
psychical matters or relax in the least the uncompromising morality 
of the ancient teachings. He should seek for interior illumination 
rather than for any light that may come from without. 

The two "gates" are, mythologically, the cloud-gate of Olympos 
and the great gate of Plouton. As Vergil poetically says, the great 
gate of the King of the Netherworld is open day and night, and 
through it pass the souls of the dead after journeying down the 
"easy descent to Avernus" (Hades), where they are purified by 
water, fire and air, after which they in due time reincarnate on 
earth, only the few irretrievably wicked souls being thrown into 
Tartaros. But according to the falsified text of the Gospels the 
many, the great majority of mankind, who follow the broad road, 
go thereby to "destruction." The ancient teachings were based 
upon the actual knowledge of initiated seers; but the hideous doc- 
trines woven into Christianity and other exoteric religions were fab- 
ricated by designing priests and morbidly dogmatic theologians, 
the self-appointed religious teachers, who are, as a class, not only 
spiritually blind guides, but are also the rancorous opponents of 
every truth that does not fit in with their fanciful systems of belief 
or that tends to weaken their power over the ignorant masses. 

The Neophyte Should Obey the Divine Will, and Not Seek for Psychic Powers 
[Matt. vii. 21-24. Lk. vi. 48. Matt. vii. 25-27] 

"Not every one who says to me, 'Master, Master,' shall enter into 
the realm of the starry spaces : he only shall enter who does the will 
of the heavenly Father. Many, seeking to enter, shall say to me, 
'Master, Master, by thy name did we not attain to seership, by thy 
name cast out evil spirits, and by thy name do many wondrous 
works ?' And then I shall declare to them, I know you not. Every 
one, therefore, who hears these doctrines from me, and carries them 
out in practice, shall be likened to a prudent man building a house, 



92 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

who excavated and deepened, and laid a foundation upon the rock ; 
and when pouring rain, swelling floods and rushing winds assailed 
that house, it fell not, for 't was founded on the rock. And every 
one who hears these doctrines from me, and puts them not in prac- 
tice, shall be likened to a stupid man who built his house upon the 
sand; and when pouring rain, swelling floods and rushing winds 
beat upon that house, it fell, a total ruiru" 

COMMENTARY 

The many who are rejected and disowned by the spiritual Self 
are those who devote themselves to psychic development, and prac- 
tise the so-called "occult arts." Psychic vision is not true seership; 
the psychic senses open out upon a world of illusions. The subtile 
elements of this intermediate nature are the shifting sands of the 
allegory, the spiritual principle being the solid rock of security. The 
man who exploits the psychic regions, instead of conforming to the 
will of his inner God, his heavenly Father, is travelling the broad 
road and not the narrow path. He acquires nothing that is of last- 
ing value, and he hazards moral ruin. 

4. The Psychic Mind and the Intuitional 

The Expulsion of the Unclean Spirit— Safety from Evil Influences 
Lies in Union with the Nous 

[Lk. xi. 14. Matt. xii. 24. Lk. xi. 15, 17. Matt. xii. 25-28. Lk. xi. 21-26] 

Iesous was casting out a spirit that caused its victim to be dumb ; 
and when the spirit was expelled, the erstwhile dumb man talked; 
and the crowds wondered. But some of the orthodox priests said : 

"He is casting out spirits by the power of the Netherworld God, 
the King of the spirits." 

But he, understanding their mental processes, said to them : 

"Every realm divided against itself is devastated, and no house 
divided against itself can stand. If the Netherworld God is expell- 
ing his own subjects, he is divided against himself. How, then, can 
his realm endure? And if I by the power of Plouton cast out spir- 
its, by whose power do your disciples, the exorcists, cast them out ? 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 93 

Your puerile incantations and exorcisms are sufficient evidence that 
your power does not come from above. But if I by the supernal 
Air am casting out spirits, then that heavenly power has taken you 
by surprise. Now, when the stalwart warrior, armed head-to-foot, 
is guarding his own mansion, his belongings are in peace, unless one 
more stalwart than he comes upon him and conquers him ; and then 
the marauder binds him and takes away from him the panoply on 
which he relied, and having plundered his house distributes the 
spoils. He who is not with me is against me ; and he who does not 
unite with me dissipates his forces. The unclean spirit, when driven 
away from his victim by a man having authority over the spirits, 
wanders about in rainless deserts, seeking respite from his tor- 
ments ; and finding no respite, he says, 'I '11 return to my house, 
whence I was driven out.' And having returned, he finds it swept 
and decorated, and the door left ajar. Then he goes out and gets 
seven other spirits more malignant than himself, and they enter in 
and dwell there; and that man is then in far worse plight than he 
was at first." 

COMMENTARY 

Although he frees the man from the evil shade that had taken 
possession of him, Iesous explains, with picturesque imagery, that 
a man is safe against evil influences only when he allies his forces 
with those of the Nous, since even purity of motive and strength of 
will are not a sufficient protection. When freed from the possess- 
ing spirit by a man able to deal with the shades of the dead, the vic- 
tim, though purified temporarily, may be even more vulnerable than 
before. 

The "Satan," or "Beelzeboul, archon of the spirits," of the falsi- 
fied text, is but a shabby substitute for Plouton, the King of the 
Shades. In this passage, as frequently elsewhere, the word "power" 
(dynamis) has been stricken out, apparently, leaving the curious 
expression "in Beelzeboul," instead of "by the power that is in Be- 
elzeboul." Sometimes the word "name" (onoma) has been sub- 
stituted for dynamis, as in the phrase "the name of Iesous," when 
Iesous is employing the power of the supernal Air — the Pneiuna. 



94 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

In Luke this incident and the discussion and discourse following 
upon it are given intact ; in Matthew it is split into two stories, both 
of which are incomplete and badly told, while the portion of the 
discourse which treats of the seven malignant spirits is inserted in a 
spurious passage concerning the sign of Jonah ; and the compiler of 
Mark, with cheerful irrelevance, has omitted the story altogether, 
but has inserted a fragment of its moral in the discourse given after 
the calling of the twelve disciples, where it is ludicrously out of 
place and comes in apropos of nothing. 

The Sign of the Higher Mind Is Not Given to Those Who Are 
' Sexually Impure 

[Matt. xii. 38, 39. Mk, viii. 11, 12] 

Said to him some of the learned and the orthodox : 

"Teacher, we wish to see your sign in the stellar regions." 

He answered them : 

"The men of this generative sphere, evil and sexually depraved, 
keep seeking for a sign, but my sign shall not be revealed to them ; 
and no sign shall be given to you but the constellation Cetus." 

COMMENTARY 

The constellation Cetus, the Greek Ketos, the Sea-monster, is the 
southern paranatellon of Pisces; it is the "Beast" of the Apoca- 
lypse, and symbolizes the lower mind. In the Septuagint the ma- 
rine monster (the "whale" of the English version) which swallows 
Jonah is called ketos, and it was this circumstance, no doubt, that 
led to the interpolation of the passage which draws a false analogy 
between Jonah, who spent three uncomfortable days and nights in 
the belly of the sea-monster, and Iesous, who is said to have been 
three days and nights in "the heart of the earth." From the Sea- 
monster's belly to the Earth's heart is a far cry; and the story of 
Jonah's misadventure is irrelevant in this passage. 

The word yeved signifies primarily "birth," and means not only 
a "generation" but also an "age," being applied in the latter sig- 
nification to each of the four ages— of gold, silver, bronze and iron 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 95 

— and thus covering the whole cycle of generation. In older Eng- 
lish the word "sign" was used for any constellation, but it is now 
generally limited to a constellation or a division of the zodiac. The 
men of formal learning are given the sign Cetus, to signify that 
their consciousness rises no higher than the rational principle ; but 
the sign of the divine Mind is not given. Aside from the astro- 
nomical symbolism, each degree of spiritual development is desig- 
nated by a geometrical figure, that of the neophyte's degree being a 
triangle. 

Iesous Receives No Honor in His Own City— Spiritual Intuition Is Antagonized 
by the Brain-consciousness 

[Matt. xiii. 54, 55. Mk. vi. 3-5. Matt. xiii. 56-58] 

Iesous returned to his native city, his companions going along 
with him. Entering the temple, he tried to teach the people of his 
native place ; consequently they were astonished and said : 

"From what source has this fellow derived this learning and 
these magic powers? Is n't this the son of the carpenter Ioseph? 
Is not his mother named Mariam ? Are not these men with him his 
five brothers, Iakobos, Ioannes, Simon, Andreas and Ioudas ? And 
are not his seven sisters also here with him?" 

And they took offence at him. But Iesous retorted on them : 

"Save in his native city, and in his own house, a seer is not thus 
dishonored." 

And because of their incredulity he could not confer the holy 
Power upon them. 

COMMENTARY 

The Carpenter, the father of Iesous, is the Demiurge, the World- 
builder; and the Mother is the Arche, the great sea of cosmic and 
divine substance. But this father should not be confused with the 
heavenly Father. 

In incarnated man the "native city" of the Nous is the brain; 
but, owing to the atrophy of its higher force-centres, the brain is 
now the seat of the lower intellectual and psychical faculties, which 
are antagonistic to the spiritual mind. 



96 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

5. The Coming of the Spiritual Consciousness — The 
Allegories of the Starry Realm 

Iesous Likens the Realm's Beginning to the Germinating Seed and 
Productive Plant — the Allegory of the Sower 

[Matt. xiii. 1-3. Mk. iv. 30-32. Matt. xii. 32. Mk. iv. 26, 27. Matt. xiii. 3-8] 

On that day Iesous went out of the temple and sat by the seaside. 
And a large crowd gathered about him; so he entered the ship and 
was seated, while the throng of people all stood on the beach. Then 
he told them many allegories of the divine realm, saying: 

"How shall we liken the realm of the starry spaces, and by what 
allegory shall we illustrate it? But nay; that realm itself is too 
great for any similitude. Yet small, very small, is its beginning: 
't is like a tiny mustard-seed, which is among the smallest of all the 
seeds sown on the earth; yet when 't is sown, it shoots up and be- 
comes the biggest of all the herbs, so that the feathered songsters 
come and perch on its sturdy little branches. Thus the seed, by its 
germination and productivity, affords a similitude of the dawning 
of the realm of the starry spaces : 't is as if a man should sow seed 
in the ground, and while he is awake by day and asleep by night the 
seed germinates and grows up, he knows not how. Behold, the 
sower went forth to sow, and as he sowed, some of the seeds fell 
by the roadside, and the birds came and ate them up; and others 
fell on the stony places, where they had scant earth, and sprouted 
soon from not being deep enough in the soil, and when the sun rose 
they wilted, and because they were shallow-rooted they withered 
away ; and others fell among prickly weeds, and the weeds grew up 
and choked them ; and others fell upon good soil and yielded fruit 
— one seed producing thirty, another sixty and another a hundred- 
fold. 

COMMENTARY 

Throned in the celestial Ship, and speaking to those who stand 
upon the shore of the mystic Sea of Knowledge, the Teacher illus- 
trates, with seven superb similitudes, the faint, almost imperceptible 
beginning and later growth of that spiritual cognition which in its 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 97 

ultimate expansion extends throughout all worlds and passes be- 
yond the limitations of space and time. 

The realm of the starry spaces is the limitless, sky-like expanse 
of man's subjective consciousness. Into the soil of his mental na- 
ture may come, like a tiny seed, an almost indiscernible intuition, 
germinating and growing, with no conscious effort of thought, and 
yielding rich returns of wisdom when it has fallen on mental soil 
that is fertile and deep. The Sower of such seeds is the Nous; the 
birds, the winged creatures of the lower atmosphere, are the mental 
faculties, which absorb and destroy the intuitions that touch upon 
the formulated system of thought, the travelled road; the stony 
places, scant of soil, are the more superficial religious beliefs and 
aspirations, in which the intuitions are nourished for a time but 
fade away with the rising of the -ardent sun of the new life; and the 
weeds are the sensuous and emotional elements of the mind. Thus 
the mind in its three lower phases proves to be infertile or unpro- 
ductive; but the fourth phase, that of philosophic reason, is the good 
soil in which the seeds of intuition become reproductive. 



[Matt xiii. 24-30] 

"The Hierophant of the realm of the starry spaces has been lik- 
ened to a farmer who sowed good seed in his field ; but while men 
slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel among the wheat, and went 
away. And when the blade had sprung up and headed out, then the 
darnel also appeared. Came the servants of the house-lord and said 
to him : 

' 'Master, did you not sow clean seed in your field ? From what 
source, then, has it become foul with darnel?' 

"He said to them : 

" 'A crafty enemy has done this !' 

"The servants asked him : 

1 'Then do you desire that we should go and weed them out ?' 

"But he replied: 

' 'No ; lest in weeding out the darnel you should uproot the wheat 



98 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

with it. Together let them both grow until the harvest ; and at the 
season of the harvest I shall say to the harvestmen, Pluck up first 
the darnel and bind it into bundles to burn it, but gather the wheat 
into my granary/ 

COMMENTARY 

The enemy of spirituality is the psychic self, man's evil genius. 
It is often impossible for the neophyte to distinguish the pure noetic 
impulses and intuitions from the psychic impressions and notions 
that closely resemble them when they first germinate in the mind; 
but when both become distinctly formulated as ideas, those which 
are of psychic origin and are therefore spurious are easily recognized 
as such and can be repudiated without risk of rejecting the valid 
intuitions. The darnel ("tares"), or rye-grass, resembles wheat; it 
was supposed to induce intoxication. 

The Allegory of the Buried Treasure 
[Matt. xiii. 44] 

"The arcane doctrine of the realm of the starry spaces is like a 
buried treasure in a field, which a man discovered and left buried ; 
and, rejoicing over his find, he goes and sells all that he has, and 
buys that field. 

COMMENTARY 

The buried treasure is the Gnosis, the sacred science of the Mys- 
teries. He who becomes convinced of the existence of this system 
of esoteric knowledge, and desires to possess it, must indeed part 
with "all that he has" before he can own the field of consciousness 
in which the higher knowledge is hidden. 

The Allegory of the Precious Pearl 
[Matt. xiii. 45] 

"The seeker for the realm of the starry spaces is like a merchant 
who travelled far, searching for beautiful pearls; and having found 
one very precious pearl, he went and sold all his possessions and 
bought it. 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 99 

COMMENTARY 

In this beautiful little allegory the travelling trader (emporos) 
represents the searcher for wisdom : the pearls he seeks are the pearls 
of truth, and the wondrous pearl that he finds is the one great Truth, 
that spiritual Self who is verily the perfect Way, the primal Truth, 
and the eternal Life. 

The Allegory of the Dragnet 
[Matt. xiii. 47, 48, 52] 

"The reminiscence of the realm of the starry spaces is like a drag- 
net which was cast into the sea and enmeshed fish of every kind, 
and which, when 't was filled, the fishermen hauled up on the beach ; 
and they sat down and sorted the edible ones into baskets, but the 
worthless ones they threw away. Therefore every man of learning 
who has become a disciple to the realm of the starry spaces is like 
a house-lord who from his rich accumulation produces treasures 
new and old. 

COMMENTARY 

It is one of the cardinal tenets of the ancient philosophy that the 
immortal spirit of man possesses all knowledge ; and that, therefore, 
as said by Plato (Phaidon, p. 76), "our knowledge is recollection." 
The faculty of recalling the knowledge stored up in the eternal 
memory of man is in the allegory likened to a dragnet. The reason- 
ing faculties sort out, arrange and formulate the knowledge ac- 
quired. Here the neophyte with disciplined mind and wide range 
of information has a great advantage over those who are less cul- 
tured. 

The Allegory of the Ten Bridesmaids 
[Matt. xxv. 1-12] 

"The powers that await the coming of the realm of the starry 
spaces have been likened to ten bridesmaids who took their torches 
and went forth to meet the bridegroom. Five of these maidens 
were heedless, and five were thoughtful. For the foolish maidens, 



ioo THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

when they took their torches, neglected to provide oil with which 
to make their torches burn brightly; but the prudent maidens took 
cruets of oil with their torches. Now, the bridegroom delayed com- 
ing, and the maidens all became drowsy and fell asleep. But at mid- 
night arose a cry : 

" 'Behold, the bridegroom ! Go forth to meet him/ 

"Then all those maidens awoke, and the prudent ones oiled their 
torches and lighted them. And the foolish maidens said to the 
sober-minded : 

" 'Give us some of your oil ; for our torches give no light.' 

"But the prudent maidens replied : 

" 'Oh, no ! There was only enough for our torches. Better go to 
the dealers, and buy some for yourselves/ 

"But when the heedless ones had gone away to buy the oil, came 
the bridegroom, and with him to the wedding-feast went the maid- 
ens who were ready; and the door was shut. Afterwards came also 
the other maidens, saying : 

" 'Master, Master, open the door to us.' 

"But he answered : 

" 'No; for I know you not.' 

COMMENTARY 

The bridegroom is the Nous and the ten maidens are manifesting 
centres of the five higher and five lower intellectual faculties, which 
are represented by the torches. The word \a/x7ras properly sig- 
nifies a torch, or flambeau; the rendering "lamp" is extremely 
doubtful. It was a common custom of the Greeks to have the bride 
and the bridegroom met by a band of torch-bearers. The allegory 
is obviously Hellenic. 

The Allegory of the Wedding- feast 
[Matt. xxii. 2-13] 

"The Immortal King of the realm of the starry spaces has been 
likened to a mortal king who prepared a feast in celebration of his 
son's wedding, and sent his servants to summon the invited guests ; 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 101 

and the guests would not come. Then he sent other servants, to 
whom he said : 

" 'To those who are invited convey this message : Behold, I have 
made preparations for the feast; my oxen and my fatlings are 
killed, and everything is ready : come to the wedding- feast.' 

"But they slighted the invitation, and went away, some departing 
to their estates in the country, and others going on voyages for 
traffic; and those who stayed laid hold of his servants, maltreated 
them, and killed them. Then was the king enraged ; and he sent 
companies of soldiers, and put to death those murderers, and gave 
their city to the flames. Said he then to his servants : 

" 'The wedding- feast is ready; but unworthy were they who were 
invited. Go, therefore, to the places where three ways meet, and 
invite to the feast everybody you may find; and provide each one 
of them with a wedding-garment.' 

"To the places where three roads meet went those servants, and 
brought in all the wretched ones who had gathered at those places 
to eat the food offered up to Hekate ; and with these poor folks as 
guests, the wedding was thronged. But when the king entered 
to behold them as they reclined at table, he observed there a man 
who was not wearing a wedding-garment, and to him he said : 

" 'Friend, how came you in here without a wedding-garment ?' 

"That graceless guest was too abashed to speak. Said then the 
king to the servants : 

" 'Take him and cast him out of the banquet-hall, and let him go 
back and dine upon the unclean offerings made to Hekate.' ' 

COMMENTARY 

Mystically, that which is spiritual or subjective is considered 
masculine, and that which is material or objective, feminine; the 
marriage or conjoining of the two may therefore have various mean- 
ings. Here the Nous, the intuitive mind, is wedded to the forma- 
tive mind, the matrix of defined or formulated ideas. The invited 
guests who refuse to attend the celebration of the wedding are the 
conventional, stereotyped notions and beliefs of exoteric philoso- 
phies and religions ; these have the brain-consciousness as their city, 



messengers from the spiritual Self. 



102 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

and many of them are the murderers of intuitions which come as 

The outcasts gathered at the 
cross-roads, "the places 
where three ways 
meet," are the philo- 
sophic tenets and eso- 
teric reminiscences that 
are denied a respectable 
standing in formal cults 
of learning and so- 
called "orthodox" sys- 
tems of belief. These 
guests, however, must 
each don a wedding- 
garment, that is, con- 
form to truth and rea- 
son ; the guest who fails 
in this respect repre- 
sents the element of 
vulgar superstition. 
For, while much that is 
regarded as supersti- 
tion has a real basis in 
ancient traditions of 
the sacred science, some 
of it is the offspring of 
ignorance, and is erro- 
neous and irrational. 
The awkward phrase in the mutilated text, "the roads passing 
out through the roads," which the revisers construe as "the partings 
of the highways," is evidently a substitute for t/ho8os, "a meeting 
of three roads." At such triple crossings Hekate, as Goddess of 
Purifications, was worshipped, wherefore she was termed Trioditis. 
On the thirtieth of each month the food used in the house-purifying 
rites was deposited at the cross-roads, where the very poor, includ- 




Hekate 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 103 

ing followers of the cynical philosophy, gathered to eat "Hekate's 
dinner" ('E/caTTjs heiTrvov) ; and these "cross-roads loafers" would 
furnish the wedding- feast with guests appropriate to the allegory. 
But the word triodos was too reminiscent of a pagan Greek custom 
to be retained in a Jewish "history"; and the "historian" had to 
strike out everything relating to Hekate's dinner, which is con- 
trasted with the king's feast, although by doing so he destroyed the 
artistic beauty of the allegory and deprived it of its point. 

The Three-road Goddess (called Hecate Trivia by the Romans) 
was depicted as triform, because she represented Artemis on earth, 
Selene in the heavens, and Hekate in the underworld. 

In the text of the Synoptics these seven parables (with about as 
many more which are clearly the unlovely and worthless work of 
forgers) are given specifically as similitudes of the divine realm: 
the set phrase is used, "the kingdom of the skies is like unto" a 
king, a buried treasure, a mustard-seed, etc., with singular incon- 
gruity. Yet not one of the similitudes applies to the realm itself; 
each relates to a particular phase of the larger intellectual life. 

Iesous Cautions the Disciples against Revealing Esoteric 
Truths to the Unworthy 

[Matt. xiii. 34. Mk. iv. 10. Matt. xiii. 10, 11. Mk. iv. 22, 11. Matt. vii. 6] 

All these truths Iesous taught in allegories when speaking to the 
multitude; and other than by allegory he taught them no sacred 
mystery. And when he was alone, came the companions and asked 
him: 

"Why do you veil the truth from them in allegories?" 

He answered them : 

"The Real is concealed only when it wears the form of Illusion ; 
and the sacred teachings are enigmatically stated, so that none but 
the discerning may discover the hidden meaning. To you it has 
been granted to gain knowledge of the Mysteries ; but to the outsid- 
ers these teachings are imparted only in myths and allegories. Do 
not turn the temple- fane into a kennel for dogs; neither cast your 
pearls before swine, else they will trample them under their feet, 
and turn about and rend you." 



104 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

Each of the great religions of antiquity had for the profane, 
aside from its moral code, only mythological and allegorical teach- 
ings, combined with symbolic ritualism; while its system of sacred 
science and philosophy was reserved for an inner circle of initiates. 
Even the Christian church, although it never at any time possessed 
the sacred Gnosis, in its primitive days professed to have its "mys- 
teries/ 7 and was organized in the form of a secret society, in puerile 
imitation of the pagan Mysteries. Every great philosopher com- 
municated the more profound truths to a few chosen pupils only. 
Thus Plato (Theaitetos, p. 152) puts these words in the mouth of 
Socrates : "Now I verily and indeed suspect that Protagoras, who 
was an almighty wise man, spoke these things in a parable to the 
common herd, like you and me, but he told the truth, 'his truth,' in 
secret to his own disciples." And of Plato himself Prof. Erdmann 
truly says {History of Philosophy, p. 97) that only his exoteric 
teachings are given in his writings, and that he taught his esoteric 
philosophy to the disciples in the Academe. In what is probably the 
oldest literary composition extant the distinction is drawn between 
esoteric and exoteric teaching, as shown by the following accurate 
translation, by Dr. John Muir, of Rig Veda, 8. 164, 45 : 

"Speech consists of four denned grades. 

These are known by those Brahmans who are wise. 
They do not reveal the three which are esoteric. 
Men speak the fourth grade of speech." 

Here the word Brahman means a Knower of Brahma, the Deity, 
as the hereditary caste of Brahmans did not exist in the Vedic age. 

A literal rendering of the phrase in Matthew vii. 6 would be, 
"Give not the sanctuary (to ayiov) to the dogs"; idiomatically it 
is an injunction not to convert the sacred place into a kennel. It 
forcibly expresses the rule that the unpurified should not be admit- 
ted into the inner circle. The metaphor of the pearls and the swine 
similarly enjoins against declaring sacred truths to the morally un- 
worthy. 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 105 

6. Purity and Brotherly Love are Essential Qualifications 

Iesous Alludes to the Lost State of Childhood 
[Mk. x. 13, 14. Matt, xviii. 10. Mk. x. 16. Matt, xviii. 1, 3, 4] 

Parents were bringing him little children, that he might touch 
them; but the disciples kept reproving those who brought them. 
When he saw it, Iesous was displeased, and said to the disciples : 

"Let the little children come to me, and hinder them not ; for 't is 
to those who have regained the child-state that the realm of the 
starry spaces belongs. See that you disdain not one of these in- 
fants ; for I say to you, In the sphere divine their Gods ever behold 
the face of the All-Father." 

And he folded them in his arms and went on praising them. Said 
to him the disciples : 

"Then who in the realm of the starry spaces is an adult?" 

Said he to them : 

"Verily I say to you, He who does not turn back and regain the 
child-state shall not at all enter the realm divine. Therefore whoso- 
ever stoops to become an 'infant,' 't is he that is an 'adult' in the 
realm of the starry spaces." 

COMMENTARY 

The incarnating Self comes into contact with the various planes 
of existence by means of the corresponding functional organs and 
vital centres of the body ; hence, until a child has reached the age of 
puberty, its soul, or higher subjective consciousness, is not in touch 
with the gross planes of the generative sphere. The souls of little 
children, as said by Plato, are still in the overworld. "The living 
soul," says the Svetasvatara Upanishad, "is not woman, nor man, 
nor neuter; whatever body it takes, with that it is joined only." To 
reach the divine consciousness, the perfect purity of the child-state 
must be regained. All true disciples lead lives of chastity: in this 
matter the mystic discipline is absolutely uncompromising. 

In the Greek text this beautiful passage has been sadly mutilated ; 
and the "authorized" translators, missing the technical points, have 



io6 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

made it almost meaningless. For instance, meizon ("greater") here 
signifies, like the Latin major, one who has attained his majority. 

Iesous Declares That among the Followers of the True There Are 
No Sectarians 

[Mk. ix. 38-40. Matt. x. 32, 42; xviii. 5, 6] 

Said Ioannes : 

"Teacher, we saw a roving healer who was casting out spirits by 
the Power you use; and we forbade him, because he does not go 
along with us." 

But Iesous said to him : 

"Hinder him not : for no one who may energize that holy Power 
can ever again speak lightly of the Self Divine ; and he who is not 
against us is for us. Every one, therefore, who acknowledges me 
before men, him shall I acknowledge before the Father; and who- 
soever, with a disciple's grace, gives but a cup of cold water to one 
of these babes who believe in me, verily I say to you, His reward 
he shall not lose. And whoever extends hospitality to one such 
little child, imparting to him my Power, is thereby receiving me as 
his guest. But whoever places impediments in the way of one of 
these babes of the realm, 't were well for him if a ponderous mill- 
stone were hanged about his neck and he were plunged into the 
abysmal sea." 

COMMENTARY 

The "babes" of the metaphor are those men and women in whom 
the inner life is quickening. The impediments that may be placed 
in their way are the false teachings of the charlatans, who bring 
upon themselves and their dupes woe unutterable. For, of all crimes 
there is none greater than that of polluting and poisoning the few 
wells of wisdom that are to be found in the thirsty desert of human 
life. 

In the falsified text "name" has been substituted for "power," 
apparently because the forgers wished to conceal the fact that 
Iesous employed a natural (though occult and magical) force in 
healing. 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 107 

Iesous Discourses on Divorce, Marriage, and Celibacy 
[Mk. x. 2-9. Matt. xix. 10-12. Lk. xx. 34-36] 

Some of the orthodox put to Iesous a test-question : 

"Is it right for a husband to obtain a divorce from his wife?" 

He answered them : 

"What says the law?" 

Said they : 

"The law sanctions release from ill-starred marriages, and grants 
either husband or wife a decree of divorce.'' 

Said Iesous to them : 

"The law concedes this because of the animality of the genera- 
tive cycle. But the immortal Self of man is sexless ; and in the germ 
of evolution the All-Father made all human beings androgynous. 
But what the All-Father thus joined together, man has put asun- 
der; so that, in this generative sphere, man and wife, though two, 
become as one body for the purpose of reproduction." 

The disciples said to him : 

"If thus is the accusation against man, along with woman, 't is 
not advisable to marry." 

Said he to them : 

"The sons of this generative sphere marry, and its daughters are 
given in marriage ; but the disciples who are resolved to reach the 
divine realm neither marry nor are given in marriage. 'T is not all 
who can embrace this arcane doctrine, but only those who are quali- 
fied for it. He who is able to embrace it, let him embrace it : for 
they who attain to the resurrection are emancipated from birth and 
death, and are received into the eternal habitations." 

COMMENTARY 

Whenever the text touches on the subject of sex, marriage, or 
divorce, it betrays discrepancies, lacuna:, and other evidences of 
having been clumsily altered ; while later manuscripts contain inter- 
polations not found in the earlier ones. But, even as it stands, the 
law of divorce referred to is that of the Greeks, not of the Jews; 



io8 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

for in Mark x. 12 it is admitted that a woman could divorce her 
husband — which she certainly could not do under the Jewish code. 
It is clear that the text has been rewritten by the ecclesiastics to suit 
their own peculiar notions of morality. But modern legislators, in 
the more civilized Christian countries, have refused to be bound 
by the narrow views imposed upon Christianity by the fanatical 
priests who thus falsified the text. Liberal divorce laws are condu- 
cive to true morality, instead of being subversive of it. 

According to ancient Greek traditions, the first human beings 
were not "male and female," but were male-female, androgynous, 
and later they separated into the two sexes. The Kabbalistic inter- 
pretation of the myth of Adam and Eve is to the same effect. 

7. True Religion Does Not Consist of Outer Observances 

Iesous Places Love for Humanity above All the Externals of Religion 
[Mk. xii. 28. Matt. xxii. 36-39. Mk. xii. 32-34] 

One of the learned men, who had drawn near and had listened to 
their mutual discussion, perceiving that Iesous had answered them 
appositely, put this question to him : 

"Teacher, what is the all-important maxim of morality?" 

Iesous answered him : 

"The priests place first this noble precept, Man should love his 
God. Wise, too, are they who bid you, Love mankind." 

Said the learned man to him : 

"Cautiously but truly spoken, Teacher ! Love for mankind avails 
more than all sacrifices to the Gods and ritualistic worship." 

And seeing that he answered with intuition, Iesous said to him : 

"You are not far from the realm divine." 

COMMENTARY 

Love of humanity and love of God are essentially the same ; for 
man is the Divine Principle incarnated. The true Self of man 
dwells eternally in the heavens, consciously a God, overshadowing 
the manifested man of the objective world. Thus for each mortal 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 109 

on earth there is an Immortal in heaven ; and these many Gods con- 
stitute a divine Unity, the Logos. Love of mankind in its higher 
aspect is therefore love of the sublime Self of all; and he who truly 
and unselfishly loves his fellow-men is near, very near, to the invisi- 
ble Presence and the holy realm. But love for an imaginary an- 
thropomorphic Deity is mere sentimentality verging on fatuity. 

Iesous Denounces the Conventional Religionists Who Desecrate the Inner Truth, 
but Adorn the Outer Falsity 

[Matt. xv. 1, 2. Lk. xi. 39. Matt, xxiii. 25, 27, 24, 13 ; xxii. 14. Lk. xi. 52, 45, 46. 
Matt, xxiii. 29-32 ; xii. 14] 

Then said to him one of the orthodox priests : 

"So, then, you would do away with all lustrations ! Is it for this 
reason that your disciples eat their bread with grimy, unwashed 
hands?" 

And the Master said to him : 

"Now, ye orthodox are like cups that have been washed on the 
outside but not on the inside : you are cleanly in person, but your 
subjective nature is full of rascality and rapacity. Woe to you, 
exemplars of orthodoxy! For you are like stuccoed burial-vaults, 
which on the outside present an ornate appearance but within are 
full of dead men's bones and utter filth. In your fear of defilement 
you strain out the gnat, and blindly swallow the camel! But woe 
to you, priests of the exoteric faith ! For you were among the many 
who were thyrsos-bearers in the processions, but you were not 
among the few who were called to enter the Temple of the Mys- 
teries. Refused initiation because of your turpitude, you stole and 
hid the key to that Temple, leaving the door locked against mankind. 
Because you yourselves could not enter, you have prevented even 
the worthy candidates who sought entrance." 

One of the conventional scholars remonstrated with him, saying : 

"Teacher, by these assertions you are heaping abuse on us as 
well." 

Said Iesous : 

"Woe to you conventional scholars also ! For you restore the 
ruined burial-vaults of the seers of old, and decorate the monu- 



no THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

ments of the ancient sages, and keep saying, 'Had we lived in the 
days of our fathers, we should not have been their accomplices in 
shedding the blood of the seers— though, of course, we must hold 
to the faith of our fathers, however blood-stained it may be.' Thus 
you yourselves testify that you are disciples of the murderers of the 
seers and sages. Then fill ye with blood, to the very brim, the 
measure which your fathers partly filled !" 

Then the priests went out and took counsel against him, how they 
might cause him to be put to death. 

COMMENTARY 

Ceremonial washings and purifyings were practised in all the 
ancient religions, the notion of physical cleanliness being naturally 
linked with that of moral purity. With the superstitious, even mere 
hygienic measures came to be regarded as sacred ceremonies. Forks 
being unknown, the Greeks and all others ate with their fingers, 
and it was therefore deemed important to wash the hands before 
and after eating; but as unclean hands, as a figure of speech, repre- 
sented guilt or an impure motive, washing the hands acquired a 
ritualistic significance. Thus in the Iliad (vi. 265) Hektor says, 
"I dread with unwashed hands to make a libation of sparkling wine 
to Zeus." 

The saying in Matthew xxii. 14, "Many are the called, but few 
are the chosen," is obviously an adaptation of the Mystery-saying 
quoted by Plato, "Many are the thyrsos-bearers, but few are the 
initiates." Some of the "Fathers" of the Christian church were 
men who had been refused initiation in the Greek Mysteries as being 
morally unfit. 

The statement in the text, that the "scribes and Pharisees," by 
saying that if they had lived in the days of their fathers they would 
not have been their accomplices in shedding the blood of the seers, 
thereby admit that they are "the sons of those who slew the seers," 
is illogical and absurd. The offence of the men of learning is that 
they continue in the faith of their fathers, and so endorse a religion 
promulgated by murderous priests, thereby acknowledging them- 
selves to be the followers (not "sons") of the murderers, and hence 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS in 

accomplices after the fact. The passage clearly shows that it has 
been emasculated by priests of the very class against which it is 
directed. 



Ill 

THE INITIATION BY FIRE-NOETIC 
DEGREE; SOLAR 

i. The Action of the Triple Fire 

Iesous Restrains the Twin Sons of Thunder from Destroying a Village 

[Lk. ix. 51-56] 

When the perfective season was drawing to a close, and the day 
was soon to dawn when he should ascend to the kingdom appointed 
to him by the Father, Iesous resolutely set his face towards the 
sacred city. Beginning his journey, he sent the seventy-two mes- 
sengers before him. But when the messengers entered into a cer- 
tain village in the mid-country, to make ready for him, the inhabi- 
tants of that village refused to extend him hospitality, for they 
were opposed to his going up to the holy city. Now, when Ioannes 
and Iakobos, the twin Sons of Thunder, saw this affront, they said 
to him : 

"Master, is it your will that we should call down fire from the sky 
and consume them?" 

But Iesous turned and reproved them ; and they went to another 
village. 

COMMENTARY 

In the mystic meditation by which the threefold kundalim is 
brought into action, the mind is concentrated on the various nerve- 
centres consecutively, beginning at the lower ones and going up- 
ward. The tissues of any nerve-centre not prepared for the action 
of the higher force would be injured or even destroyed by the im- 
pact of the positive and negative currents. The noetic regents of 
these two "fires" are represented by Ioannes and Iakobos, who cor- 



ii2 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

respond to the two fire-breathing "witnesses" of the Apocalypse 
(xi. 1-4), who are also called "the two olive-trees." They are rep- 
resented by the two serpents on the wand of Hermes. This wand 
was originally an olive-branch, which is still the emblem of peace. 
The olive was also sacred to Athena. 



2. The Inner Meaning of the Rite of Crucifixion 

Iesous Explains the Doctrine of the Cross, and Reproves Simon 
for Desiring to Avert the Ordeal 

[Matt. xx. 17-19. Mk. viii. 32, 33] 

As Iesous was journeying towards the sacred city, he kept the 
twelve companions about him as an inner circle, apart from the 
others, and on the way he said to them : 

"Behold, we are going up to the sacred city, and there the Son 
of the Starry King shall be handed over to the priests ; and they will 
pass sentence of death on him and hand him over to the rabble to 
mock, to buffet, and to crucify; and on the third day he shall be 
raised from the dead." 

And he elucidated the arcane doctrine in clear and unmistakable 
language. Then Simon took him to himself and began to reprove 
him for speaking ill-omened words ; but Iesous, turning and looking 
around upon his companions, reprimanded Simon, and said : 

"Get behind me, you evil genius ! For your mind is centred on 
human affairs, and not on things divine." 

COMMENTARY 

As it passes away from one plane of life the soul emerges upon 
another: from the point of departure it seemingly dies; from the 
point of arrival it is apparently born. The death on the cross sym- 
bolizes the birth "from above," the transition of the soul from the 
physical body to the mind-born solar body. 

Simon here appears in his lower character as the discursive rea- 
son; he is shown in his destructive aspect, as were Ioannes and 
Iakobos when they proposed to destroy the inhospitable villagers. 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 113 

3. The Three Vestures of the Soul 

The Three Visible Forms of Iesous Are Manifested Simultaneously 
[Matt. xvii. 1-5. Lk. ix. 36] 

On the seventh day of the journey Iesous took with him Ioudas, 
Ioannes and Iakobos, and brought them to a lone and lofty moun- 
tain; and before them his semblance was changed to that of a God : 
his face irradiated golden light, as shines the sun, and his garments 
turned gleaming white, like the silvery light of the moon. And 
behold, there appeared to them the Lawgiver and the Seer, who 
held high converse with the Teacher. Then said Ioudas to him : 

"Master, if 't is your will, let us build here a habitation with three 
halls — one for you, one for the Lawgiver, and one for the Seer." 

While he was yet speaking, behold, a fire-laden cloud enfolded 
them, and a voice from its luminous depths proclaimed : 

"These three, Lawgiver, Seer and Teacher, are but one. Hear 
ye the Teacher; my beloved Son is he, and o'er the realm supernal 
he shall reign." 

And when the voice had ceased, the vision vanished, and the dis- 
ciples saw no one with them save Iesous only. 

COMMENTARY 

Ioudas is here the regent of the central fire, sushamna; in the 
falsified text "Petros" has been substituted for the discredited dis- 
ciple. The three companions represent the threefold kandalini, the 
creative fires; and the "mountain" of the transfiguration is the 
sahasrara chakra, the highest of the brain-centres. 

The three outer forms, the vehicles of the soul on the three planes 
of life, are shown simultaneously, and the physical body, the lowest 
of the three, exhibits the golden luminosity of the as yet unborn 
solar body; as the physical body is sustained by the "lunar" (psy- 
chic) forces, the tattvas, the garments of Iesous are said to shine 
with the moon's radiance. The fire-laden cloud, whence issues the 
voice, shows this to be the lustration of fire. In the perverted text 
the disciples are said to propose building "three tabernacles." But 



ii 4 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

the formative forces are at this stage building up the one eternal 
habitation, the solar body, which is to take the place of the physical 
and psychic forms (which are mortal) and the spiritual body, which 
is but an ideal pattern for the permanent vesture of the soul. 

4. The Abode of Thought 

Iesous Rides the Steed of the Sun-God When Entering the Holy City 
[Mk. xi. 1-9. Matt. xxi. 2. Lk. xix. 38] 

When they drew near to the sacred city, towards the mountain 
of the olive-trees, he sent Iakobos and Ioannes in advance, saying 
to them : 

"Go to the village over against you, and directly you enter it you 
will find a young ass tied, which never yet has mortal bestrode. 
Untie it, and lead it hither; and if any one says to you, 'Why are 
you doing this ?' say, 'The Master has need of the young ass, and 
he will duly return it.' " 

They departed, and found the young ass tied at the gate, outside 
the stable, by the road-bend ; and they untied it. Some of the by- 
standers said to them : 

"What are you doing, untying the young ass?" 

The two disciples made reply as Iesous had directed them, and 
the bystanders did not interfere with them. And they led the young 
ass to Iesous, and put their cloaks on it for a saddle, and he bestrode 
it. Meantime many of the people spread their cloaks upon the road, 
and others spread rushes which they had cut in the fields. And 
those who went before and those who followed behind kept crying 
out : 

"Io,ia,ie! Blessed is the unanointed King ! Blessed is his com- 
ing realm ! Id, ia, ie!" 

COMMENTARY 

In the Apocalypse (xi. 3, 4) the "two witnesses" are called also 
the "two olive-trees." As they stand for the two currents Ida and 
pin gala, which extend to the sixth of the major chakras, the pitui- 
tary body, the latter may be safely regarded as the "mountain of 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 115 

the olive-trees" ; its zodiacal correspondence is Cancer. In the sub- 
divisions of this sign are the Manger ( <&aTvr) ) or Stable (Prcesepe) 
and the Asses ("Ovol) of .Bakchos. The two disciples are not 
named in the text; but as the signs Gemini and Taurus, of which 
Iakobos and Ioannes are regents, immediately precede Cancer, the 
village where the Ass is found lies "over against" those two com- 
panions of the Sun-God. The word a^ohov {Mark xi. 4), which 
signifies "a road leading around a place," is erroneously rendered 
in the authorized version "a place where two ways met." The place 
here is, astronomically, the summer solstice, at which point the sun 
seems to pause for a little before again moving back obliquely to- 
wards the equator. The meeting-points of the ways are the equi- 
noxes, where the ecliptic intersects the equator. The word Ovpa, 
"door," should be ttv\o)v, "gate," since it refers to Cancer as the 
highest gate of the ecliptic. 

The Greeks looked upon the ass as a stupid animal : among the 
ancients, as among the moderns, a dunce was called a donkey, an 
ass. The humble donkey is really far more intelligent than is gen- 
erally supposed; but, singularly, his reputed vacancy of mind, pa- 
tience and almost unconquerable obstinacy are the very qualities 
which made him sacred to the Sun-God. The triumphal entry of 
Iesous into the holy city represents allegorically the attainment of 
the highest state of spiritual illumination. Now, the sixth stage in 
the mystic contemplation leading to the final illumination is said to 
be one of unwavering concentration (dharana), accompanied by 
complete abstraction from all objects of sensuous perception, alike 
on the material and the psychic planes of consciousness : so far as the 
phenomenal world is concerned, the mind is a perfect blank, its 
entire energy being directed, by a supreme effort of the will, to- 
wards the sacred goal. This sixth stage, of patient, determined 
concentration and blank abstraction, is symbolized by the humble 
donkey which carries Iesous into the holy city. The two Asses in 
Cancer presumably stand for mind-carriers on the two sensuous 
planes ; but here in the allegory but one of them is needed, though 
in Matthew a she-ass and her colt are spoken of, and Iesous is said 
to ride "them." 



n6 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

The nondescript word hosanna, which is neither Hebrew nor 
Greek, and for which no satisfactory explanation has ever been 
offered, is here replaced by the Greek Mystery-cry used in the Eleu- 
sinian procession, of which the whole incident is strongly reminis- 
cent. 

Iesous Defies the Tetrarch, and Laments over the Murderous City 
[Lk. xiii. 31-34; xix. 41. Matt. xiii. 37] 

That very hour came to him some of the exoteric priests and said : 

"Away! Depart from this place; for the tetrarch purposes to 
kill you." 

Said Iesous to them : 

"Go and take to that wolf this message from me : Behold, to-day 
and to-morrow I shall cast out, as if they were evil spirits, those 
priests who possess the city, and shall point out the true path to 
those whom they have misled ; and the third day I shall have myself 
initiated." 

And he broke into lamentation, saying : 

"O sacred city, thou murderess of the seers! How often would 
I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen nestles her 
chickens under her wings — and you would not!" 

COMMENTARY 

The heart, which in the purified man is the manifesting centre of 
the divine love, is in the unregenerate the organ of the psychic or 
phrenic mind, the foe of spirituality. 

According to the text of Luke, Iesous calls the tetrarch (Herod) 
a "fox." But the allegory demands that he should be a personifica- 
tion of the Wolf (Lupus), the southern paranatellon of Scorpio. 
The Greek name of the constellation is Therion, "Wild-beast." By 
the Sumero- Akkadians it was named Ligbat, "the Beast of Death," 
and was fabled to be a Demon of Darkness opposed to the Sun-God. 
The "historian" who compiled Luke probably deemed it desirable 
to soften the epithet, and therefore changed it to "fox." The text 
also makes Iesous say, "I am casting out ghosts and performing 
cures to-day and to-morrow" ; but in the narrative Iesous casts out 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 117 

the priests from the temple and teaches the people during the first 
two days. On the third day he begins his initiation by partaking 
of the feast in celebration of the vernal equinox, and on the fourth 
day he is crucified; he then remains in the tomb during the fifth 
and sixth days, and rises on the seventh. The forgers have juggled 
with the text in an ineffectual attempt to make out that more than 
seven days elapsed between the entry of Iesous into the city and his 
resurrection. 



5. The Purification of the Centre of Divine Love 

Iesous Drives Out Those Who Are Desecrating the Temple 
[Mk. xi. 15. Matt. xxi. 12, 13. Lk. xix. 47. Matt. xxi. 17] 

When he had come into the city, he entered the temple and began 
the work of purifying it by casting out the traffickers who made it 
a place of barter and sale : he overturned the tables of the money- 
changers and the seats of the wretches who sold the doves. For he 
said to them all : 

"This place should be the fane of the Love Divine ; but ye have 
made it a den of prowling beasts of prey." 

And making the temple his own, he therein taught the noble 
truths. But the priests whom he had cast out plotted to destroy 
him, and to win over the people to their side. 

When it was evening, he went, with his twelve companions, to the 
village at the foot of the mountain of the olive-trees, where they 
had found the ass, and lodged with the hospitable villagers. 

COMMENTARY 

The money-changers and dove-sellers are, allegorically, the base 
desires and passions which defile the heart ; in the literal sense, they 
are the exoteric priests, for whom the maintenance of religion is 
mainly a money-making pursuit. The doves (sadly soiled doves) 
were the temple-women, from whose immorality the priests reaped a 
profit. 

The teaching in the temple by day, and withdrawal from the city 



n8 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

at nightfall, refer to the objective and subjective states of conscious- 
ness, and to the interaction between the heart-centres and the brain- 
centres; here the heart, as a centre of spiritual consciousness, is 
made positive and the brain negative. 



6. The Extirpation of the Procreative Centres 

Iesous Withers the Fig-tree, and Tells of the True Creative Poweh 
[Matt. xxi. 18-21. Mk. xi. 24, 25. Matt. vi. 9-11] 

In the morning, as Iesous was returning to the city, he was hun- 
gry, and seeing a lone fig-tree by the roadside, he came to it, and 
found on it nothing but leaves. Said he to the tree : 

"Nevermore throughout the ages shall fruit be borne by thee !" 

Before the eyes of the companions the tree turned into a lifeless 
trunk, with scorched and leafless branches ; and the wondering dis- 
ciples asked him : 

"How is it that the fig-tree instantly withered away ?" 

Iesous answered them : 

"If you have unwavering faith, you shall not only perform the 
magic work of blasting the fig-tree, but even should you say to this 
mountain, 'Be removed from your place and cast into the sea/ the 
event would come to pass. Therefore I say to you, Hold to the 
conviction that you have already received all things whatsoever that 
you keep praying and asking for, and they '11 be yours. And when- 
ever you essay to commune with the overshadowing Presence, first 
forgive any and every wrong you may have suffered from any one, 
that your heavenly Father may also forgive you your misdeeds. 
Let this be the form of your petition : 

"Our Father in the starry heavens enthroned, 
In sacred ritual be thy name intoned ; 
Thy realm established be among the blest, 
Thy will on earth, as in the heavens, expressed. 
Supernal wisdom grant us now to know, 
Nor stay its coming through the ages slow : 
To-morrow's bread of life to-day on us bestow." 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 119 

COMMENTARY 

The withered fig-tree represents the wholly atrophied generative 
system of the perfect ascetic. The procreative function has to be 
done away with before the brain can be made the organ of the 
divinely creative and formative power of the true Mind, the Nous. 
It is by energizing the pituitary body, or hypophysis cerebri, by pure 
will-power, that the "single eye" is opened and vision gained of 
the aethereal "sea." 

The paradoxical statement that the aspirant shall receive every- 
thing he seeks, if he believes that he already has received it, is but 
an affirmation that the divine realm is within man, and not with- 
out : all knowledge and all the higher powers are stored up and 
latent in the soul, and no man will attain them unless he believes that 
he possesses them. 

The model prayer, as given in Matthew, is metrical, and consists 
of eleven lines; to these, in later manuscripts, interpolators have 
added various doxological formulae, such as, "For thine is the realm, 
and the power, and the glory, throughout the aeons. Amen." These 
endings are unquestionably spurious, and are rejected by all careful 
textual critics. The last four lines of the prayer, "And forgive us 
our debts," etc., are in a different literary style from those preced- 
ing them: they are greatly inferior in rhythmical construction, and 
contain objectionable sentiments. That Iesous would teach his dis- 
ciples to implore the Father not to lead them into temptation, but to 
deliver them from the Evil One (the Devil), is a conception that 
must be rejected : for the Father leads no one into temptation, and 
the Devil is a creation of vulgar superstition. Thus only seven lines 
of the prayer can be accepted as genuine; and the seven lines are 
complete in themselves, while seven is a peculiarly sacred number. 
The coined word 'ttlovctlov, which is found only in this prayer, is 
most probably a verbal adjective formed from eirei^i, and mean- 
ing "for the coming (day)." The rendering "daily bread" is wholly 
inadequate; for "bread" is here used metaphorically for spiritual 
wisdom, the mystical "bread of life," which the great majority of 
mankind will obtain only at the close of the evolutionary period, 



120 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

when they shall have progressed beyond the animal-human stage of 
generation. While wearing his "muddy vesture of decay" man be- 
longs more properly to the animal kingdom than to the divine realm 



7. lesous Discourses of the Coming of the Self 

The Semi-divine and the Divine Lustrator 
[Mk. xi. 27-31. Matt. xxii. 26, 27] 

They came again to the sacred city; and as he was teaching in 
the temple, the priests came and said to him : 

"By what authority are you teaching in our temple, which you 
have usurped?" 

lesous said to them : 

"I shall put to you a question concerning one rite instituted in the 
Lesser Mysteries; give me the answer to it, and I will tell you by 
what authority I am teaching in this temple. This is the question, 
Was the lustral rite of Ioannes instituted by the Gods or but by 
men?" 

The priests debated among themselves, saying: 

"Were we to say, 'By the Gods,' he would say, 'Why, then, did 
you not believe in him?' But were we to say, 'By mortal men' " — 

They feared the common people, who all held that Ioannes was 
a seer ! So they answered lesous : 

"We do not know." 

He in turn answered them : 

"Neither do I tell you by what authority I am teaching in this 
temple." 

COMMENTARY 

Ioannes, as the personified psychic self, purifies with the lunar 
element, water, and is both divine and human; whereas lesous, as 
the spiritual Self, purifies with the solar fire, and is wholly divine. 
The cleansing of the temple completes the work of this degree; the 
discourses which follow it treat of the advent of the Self in the 
final degree, the new birth, which in the next and last act of the 
drama is mystically represented by the crucifixion and resurrection. 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 121 

Two Allegories of the Vineyard— the Duality of the Mind 
[Mk. xii. 1. Matt. xxi. 28-33. Lk. xx. 9-16. Mk. xii. 12] 

Then he began to speak to them in allegories : 

"Now, what is your opinion in this instance? A man had two 
boys; and he came to the first and said, 'My child, go to-day and 
work in my vineyard.' He answered, 'I will not'; but afterwards 
he repented and went. The father came to the second son and 
made the same request, and the son said, 'I '11 go, Sire' ; but he did 
not go. Which of the two children did the will of their father?" 

The priests answered : 

"The first one." 

Said Iesous to them : 

"Verily I say to you, The worldly men and the strumpets are go- 
ing before you into the realm divine. For when Ioannes came with 
his moral code, the worldlings and the unfortunate women had faith 
in him, but you had none! Even when you saw how they were 
reformed, you did not change your minds and receive his purifying 
rite. Listen to another allegory : A man planted a vineyard, leased 
it to husbandmen, and went abroad for a long stay. When the sea- 
son of vintage came, he sent a servant to the husbandmen to de- 
mand his share of the profits; but the husbandmen assaulted the 
man with clubs and drove him away empty-handed. The owner 
sent another servant, and him also they sent away empty-handed, 
after beating him and heaping abuse upon him. He sent a third 
servant, and him also they wounded and drove away. Said the 
owner of the vineyard : 

" 'What shall I do ? I shall send my beloved son ; they will, no 
doubt, treat him with respect.' 

"But when the husbandmen caught sight of the son, they con- 
sidered the matter among themselves and said : 

" 'This is the heir ; let us kill him, so that the inheritance may 
become ours/ 

"So they slew him, and threw his body outside the vineyard. 
What, therefore, will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He 



122 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

will return, and he will crush them as grapes when trodden in the 
Master's wine-vat; yea, he will scatter them like chaff which the 
wind carries afar when grain is winnowed with the Master's fan." 

The priests, perceiving that Iesous directed the allegories against 
them, longed to lay violent hands on him, but were held back by 
their fear of the common people. 

COMMENTARY 

Both of these allegories have for their subject the duality of the 
mind. The higher mind, which is tardily developed in man, is said 
to refuse, at first, to engage in the work of evolution (the Master's 
vineyard), while the lower mind, seemingly willing, shirks the toil 
of spiritual development. In the other allegory the intuitive mind 
is represented as the beloved son, who is slain by the husbandmen, 
the forces of the reasoning mind. The Master's vineyard, in the 
first allegory, is the higher plane of evolution, psychic and spiritual ; 
but the leased vineyard of the second allegory is the material phase 
of human evolution, which the materialistic mind, faithless to the 
divine purpose, seeks to usurp. The more superficial application of 
these allegories to particular classes of men is one on which little 
stress should be laid. Yet it is quite true that self-righteous re- 
ligionists, uncharitable to those whom they can not convert to their 
own views, are usually less imbued with the spiritual influences 
than are the more normal men and women whom they regard as 
worldly and sinful. 

The Realm of the Anointed King Is Not Objective 
[Lk. xvii. 20, 21 ; xii. 54-56] 

Then the orthodox asked him : 

"When does the divine realm come?" 

Iesous answered them : 

"The realm divine comes not through external perception; nor 
do the Gods say, 'Lo, 't is here !' or 'Lo, 't is there !' For behold, 
the divine realm is within you. When you see a cloud rising in the 
west, you promptly predict, 'There 's a shower coming' ; and your 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 123 

forecast proves to be correct. When you note that a south wind is 
blowing, you say, 'There will be hot weather' ; and it so befalls. Ye 
wiselings! you know how to foretell the weather by the aspects of 
the earth and the sky; but how is it that you can not interpret the 
signs of the coming of the realm divine?" 

COMMENTARY 

Spiritual truths are revealed by interior illumination; enlighten- 
ment can not come from without. Knowledge derived through the 
senses, whether on the physical or on the psychic planes," relates 
only to phenomena, never to noumena. Teachings conveyed by 
word of mouth or by the written page can act only as external 
stimuli : they are understood and accepted only in proportion as they 
revive latent memories in the subconscious mind of the recipient. 
But the profane, instead of seeking to evolve knowledge from the 
inexhaustible depths of the inner consciousness, the sole source of 
true wisdom, ever cherish the vain hope that some God will descend 
to earth, some great teacher incarnate, to impart to humanity as a 
whole that wisdom which in reality each man must find for himself ; 
while even more unwise are they who imagine that an incarnated 
God can atone vicariously for the sins which each man must of 
necessity expiate individually. Within each human being is the one 
God, the divine Teacher, who is for him his only Savior. It is only 
the pseudo-teachers and exoteric religionists who raise the cry, "Lo, 
here !" or "Lo, there !" 

The Signs That Precede the Manifestation of the Self 

[Mk. xiii. 1, 2; xiv. 58; xiii. 3, 4. Matt. xxiv. 3. Lk. xxi. 8. Mk. xiii. 21, 22. 

Matt. xxiv. 24-27] 

And when, the second evening, he was leaving the temple, Ioudas 
said to him : 

"Teacher, behold what massive stones, and what well-nigh inde- 
structible buildings !" 

Iesous said to him : 

"Are you gazing at these magnificent buildings? 'T is you who 



124 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

shall be instrumental in destroying a nobler temple, leaving not one 
stone upon another; and in three days I shall replace it with an 
eternal sanctuary, a temple not built with hands." 

And when they had returned to the village at the foot of the 
mountain of the olive-trees, over against the sacred city, and while 
they were gazing back at the temple, Ioudas, Ioannes, Iakobos, 
Simon and Andreas asked him privately : 

"Tell us, when shall these things be ? And what shall be the sign 
of thy Manifestation, and of the quick completion of the stately 
structure that shall crown our age-long toil?" 

Iesous answered them : 

"Take heed that you are not led astray : for many pretenders will 
come in my name, saying, T am the Anointed King,' and, 'The 
realm has drawn near.' Do not follow them. And then should 
any one say to you, 'Behold, the Anointed King is here,' or, 'He is 
there,' believe it not. For there shall arise those falsely claiming 
to be Anointed Kings, and false seers; and they shall seek with 
cunning lures to lead astray them who are trying to be disciples. I 
have forewarned you. If, therefore, they say to you, 'Behold, he 
is in the desert,' go not forth; or if they say, 'Behold, he is in the 
dim and quiet cloisters,' believe them not. For as at dawn a glim- 
mer of light shows in the east, and spreads even to the west before 
the rising of the sun, so shall be the Manifestation of the Self 
Divine. 

COMMENTARY 

Emancipation from the bondage of physical existence does not at 
all involve the immediate death of the mortal body, which lives out 
its allotted span even when the deathless body is fully formed. The 
"death" on the cross is purely mystical. Ioudas, as the agent of the 
crucifixion, is the destroyer of the "temple" (here the material 
body) in this sense only: the highest of the noetic powers frees the 
soul from the illusions of material life. Ioudas is but a personifica- 
tion of the most exalted of the five solar "fires," the forces of the 
Nous, or individual Logos ; and the solar body, the eternal and in- 
corruptible body of the resurrection, is the consummation, or per- 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 125 

feet accomplishment (crwriXeia) , of the labor of these forces dur- 
ing the aeon, or cycle of human evolution. The word irapovaia, 
"advent," or "presence," is found in the Synoptics only in Matthew 
xxiv. 3, 27, 37, 39, where it is evidently a disingenuous substitute 
for the "pagan" term eVtc^a^eia, which signifies the glorious mani- 
festation of a God. Here the Manifestation is that of the divine 
Self, man's inner God. In the historicized text this allegory is con- 
verted, in a bungling way, into a prophecy of the second coming of 
Iesous in his resurrected physical body. 

The Turbulence of the Lower Forces— The Pangs of the New Birth 

[Matt. xxiv. 32, 2>3- Mk. xiii. 34-36, 7, 8. Lk. xxi. 11, 20. Matt. xxiv. 28. 

Mk. xiii. 26] 

"Now, learn from the fig-tree the meaning of the allegory : when 
the fig-tree's new and tender shoots are leafing out, you know that 
summer is near; even so shall the tree of life, in your inner nature, 
put forth its healing leaves and fruits of heavenly wisdom when the 
summer of your soul is near. The divine Self has been likened to 
a man who, having delegated his authority to his servants, assign- 
ing to each his duties, and enjoining the gatekeepers to keep vigi- 
lant watch, gave over his house to their charge while he went to 
sojourn in a distant land. Therefore, keep sleepless watch : for you 
know not when the master of the house may come, whether at sun- 
set, at midnight, at dawn, or at noon ; lest coming unexpectedly he 
should find you asleep at your post. And when in your inner nature 
there is war and the crashing of battles, make no outcry, for all 
these ordeals must be undergone; but not yet is the initiation at- 
tained. For then it will be as if the powers of heaven were at war 
with the powers of earth, with jarring of earthquakes and dread 
celestial phenomena; these are the throes preceding the new birth. 
And when you see the city's wall beleaguered by legions, know then 
that its devastation is impending ; for wherever the carcass is, there 
will flock the vultures. And then amidst the golden clouds, as when 
the sun at rosy dawn ascends, the Son of the Starry King shall be 
manifested in all his might and majesty. 



126 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

The Logos, having set in motion the evolutionary forces, leaves 
the incarnating soul to work out its own destiny; but at the close 
of the cycle, the perfective period, which, however far it may be in 
the future for the mass of mankind, may come at any time in the 
present to the individual who has outdistanced his fellows, the Self 
returns. When the mental and psychical life of the man has so 
unfolded and expanded as to make possible the divine union, it is 
likened to a tree putting out buds and blossoms in the spring. But 
as the Self draws nearer, the accompanying spiritual forces exert 
a tremendous pressure upon the whole- nature of the man, disrupt- 
ing the old order of things preparatively for the spiritual economy. 
The carnal man dies, as it were, before the spiritual man is born. 
The imagery of the beleaguered city, and of the vultures flocking to 
the dead body, is found also in the Apocalypse:' 'the constrictive and 
disintegrating forces of the elemental self are figuratively repre- 
sented. 

In Mark xiii. 35 the four night-watches are given; but the four 
quarters of the day fit the context better. 

The Final Judgment— the Separating of the Sons of Light from 

the Sons of Darkness 

[Mk. xiii. 27. Matt. xxv. 31-46] 

"Then shall he send forth his messengers, and shall gather to- 
gether his own from the four winds, from the four quarters of the 
universe. Then shall he be seated on his effulgent throne ; before 
him shall be gathered all who were his own in every nation ; and he 
shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd separates the 
sheep from the goats, placing the sheep on his right hand and the 
goats on the left. To those on the right hand he will say: 

' 'Come, ye of whom my Father approves, enter into the realm 
divine! For I was hungry, and you gave me food; I was thirsty, 
and you gave me drink ; I was a stranger, and you entertained me ; 
naked, and you clothed me ; I was sick, and you watched over me ; 
I was in prison, and you visited me.' 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 127 

"They will answer him : 

" 'O King most glorious, when could we have done these humble 
services to thee ?' 

"Then will he answer them : 

" 'Inasmuch as you did them to even the humblest of your fellow- 
men, you did them unto me.' 

"And to those on the left hand he will say : 

" 'Depart from me, ye the rejected, into the outer darkness. For 
I was hungry, and you fed me not ; I was thirsty, and you gave me 
no drink; naked, and you clothed me not; sick and in prison, and 
you visited me not.' 

"Then will they also answer : 

" 'O King, when did we see thee in need, and not minister to 
thee?' 

"He will answer them : 

' 'Inasmuch as you did not these services to your fellow-men, 
even the lowly, you did them not to me.' 

"And the rejected shall go away into darkness and oblivion ; but 
the accepted shall abide in the light of life eternal." 

» COMMENTARY 

The last judgment, as here depicted, is the summing-up by the 
incarnating Self, at the end of its cycle of earth-lives, of all that 
the soul has done during the period of evolution. Through the 
long and weary ages the soul has been incarnated successively in 
every nation, passing through all experiences of human existence. 
All these earth-lives, the personalities that the true Ego has assumed 
during the generative cycle, are now reviewed, and every pure and 
noble element of character in them is revivified, while all that is 
unworthy is obliterated from the eternal memory. In a lesser way, 
the soul, after each incarnation, passes judgment upon all that was 
done during that life-time. In the Apocalypse both these judg- 
ments are allegorically described, and the subject is more fully 
treated than it is here. This last judgment follows the crucifixion; 
and as it could not be fittingly represented in the action of the drama, 
it is therefore introduced in a discourse. 



128 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

IV 

THE INITIATION BY EARTH- REGENERATIVE 
DEGREE; PLANETARY 

i. The Energizing of the Forces for the Final Ordeal 

Iesous and His Companions Make Preparations for the Feast of 

the Vernal Equinox 

[Mk. xiv. 12. Lk. xxii. 8. Mk. xiv. 13-16] 

On the first day of the festival of the vernal equinox, when the 
ritualists sacrificed a young ram, the disciples of Iesous said to him : 

"Where do you wish that we should go and make ready for you 
to celebrate the equinoctial feast?" 

He chose Simon and Andreas, and said to them : 

"Go to the western gate, and a man bearing a water-pitcher will 
meet you. Follow him, and wherever he may enter, say to the mas- 
ter of the house, 'The Teacher says, "Where is there a dining-room 
in which I may celebrate the equinoctial feast with my disciples ?" 
And he will show you a commodious dining-room on the upper 
floor. Make ready for us at that place." 

The two disciples went forth, and came to the gate, and every- 
thing befell as he had foretold ; and they made preparations for the 
feast. 

COMMENTARY 

In the solar cult four great feasts were held, celebrating the 
beginning of each of the four seasons. When the sun, in ancient 
times, crossed the equator in Taurus, bulls were sacrificed; and 
when, owing to the precession of the equinoxes, the crossing took 
place in Aries, rams were offered up. These sacrifices and cere- 
monies belonged to the exoteric ritualism of the priests and the rab- 
ble. The coming of Spring was celebrated more beautifully by the 
Athenians with the Anthesteria, or three days' festival of Dionysos. 

The text of Luke gives Petros and Ioannes as the two disciples 
who were sent to meet the Water-carrier; but Ioannes is not con- 






THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 129 

cerned with that sign, while Andreas is the Regent of Aquarius. 
The "man carrying a water-jug" is the Regent of the Aquarius- 
quarter of the zodiac, which consists of the signs Capricornus, 
Aquarius and Pisces; and this quarter being considered as his 
"house," the "upper floor" is the sign Pisces, and this sign im- 
mediately precedes Aries and the equinoctial point. The word 
oLKoSeairoTrjs, "master of the house," used in the text, is the Greek 
astrological term for the ruling planet of a zodiacal division. The 
descriptive phrase, "a man carrying a jug of water," is equivalent 
to Hydrochoos, the constellation of the Water-pourer. In Matthezv, 
where this portion of the text has been very thoroughly revised in 
the interest of "history," the individual to whom the two disciples 
are sent is called "So-and-so" (Se(W), and all allusions to his being 
a house-lord, and to the water-pitcher, and the house and its room 
on the upper floor, have been carefully expunged. In the interest 
of symbolism, the vague direction, "Go to the city," is here changed 
to, "Go to the western gate." 

The Flesh and Blood of the Logos— the Elements and Forces of 
the Immortal Body 

[Mk. xiv. 17, 22-25] 

When it was evening, Iesous came with his twelve companions to 
the house of the Water-pourer; and as they reclined at table, he 
took a loaf of bread, and having consecrated it, he broke it in twelve 
pieces, and giving them to the disciples, he said : 

"Take them: this is my flesh which is portioned among you." 

Then he took his cup and filled it with wine ; and having poured 
out a libation, he held aloft the cup, and said: 

"This is my blood of the new life. Of a truth I say to you, 
Nevermore shall I drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when 
I drink it new in the realm appointed to me by the Father." 

COMMENTARY 

The incidents of the concluding portion of the drama mark a 
complete circuit of the zodiac. The entry of Iesous into the city, 



130 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

when riding the Ass, which belongs in the constellation Cancer, 
refers to the sun traversing the Leo-quarter of the zodiac, from the 
summer solstice to the autumnal equinox; the blasting of the fig- 
tree relates to his further progress through the Scorpio-quarter, to 
the winter solstice ; at the "last supper" he has passed through the 
Aquarius-quarter, to the point of the vernal equinox; and his cruci- 
fixion, and resurrection "after three days," relate to the traversing 
of the Taurus-quarter, which completes the circuit. The first quar- 
ter of this mystic circuit is that of purification : Iesous purifies the 
temple. The second quarter marks the attainment of the lost state 
of childhood : Iesous blasts the fig-tree. The third quarter is that of 
the perfect formation of the nascent solar body : Iesous apportions 
his flesh and blood among the twelve companions— the forces and 
elements of that "body of the resurrection." The fourth quarter is 
that of the new birth, the attainment of the divine state : from the 
tomb of material life Iesous rises glorified in his eternal vesture. 

This feast, in which Iesous figuratively apportions his flesh and 
blood among the twelve companions, represents allegorically the 
perfecting of the as yet unborn solar body. As in the banquets in 
the houses of Simon and of Ioudas, the feast is made the occasion, 
in characteristic Greek style, for discourse and discussion; but in 
the mutilated text of the Synoptics undue stress is laid upon the 
prediction concerning Ioudas, and passages which clearly belong 
here have been transferred to other places in the narrative. In 
Luke, however, the account is more complete and more orderly than 
in the others. 



Iesous Appoints Twelve Thrones to His Companions— the Centres of the 
Twelve Ruling Powers 

[Mk. x. 35, 37-40. Matt. xvi. 18, 19. Mk. x. 41-44. Lk. xxii. 27-30] 

Then, having tasted of the cup, he passed it first to Idannes and 
Iakobos. But they, the twin Sons of Thunder, ere they drank of 
the cup, said to him : 

"Master, grant us to be seated, one on your right hand and the 
other on your left hand, when in your glory you are throned." 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 131 

But Iesous said to them : 

"Dare ye drink the cup which I drink, and undergo the lustration 
which I am to undergo ?" 

They answered him : 

"We dare!" 

Said Iesous to them : 

"You shall drink the cup which I drink, and undergo the lustral 
rite which I undergo ; but 't is not for me to assign to you the thrones 
on my right hand and my left hand, because you are the two disci- 
ples for whom they have been prepared by my Father. For you are 
the guardians of the two gates of the netherworld, the gate of birth 
and the gate of death; therefore I shall give you the keys both of 
the generative sphere and of the heaven-world; and whatever soul 
you may bind in the heaven-world shall descend to its prison on 
earth, and whatever soul you may set free on earth shall ascend to 
its heavenly home." 

Then the Sons of Thunder drank of the cup, and so also did all 
the others. But the ten, having heard the promise spoken by Iesous, 
were inclined to be envious of their two brothers, Ioannes and Iako- 
bos. Therefore said Iesous to them : 

"You know that those who are reputed to rule over the common 
people have legal authority to govern them, and their great ones 
domineer over them. But among you it is not so : for, as brothers 
and sisters, you are of equal rank ; and now as you recline at table, 
I am in the midst of you as the one who serves. When I come into 
the realm which the Father has appointed to me, you shall sit on 
twelve thrones and rule over its twelve great regions." 

COMMENTARY 

Of the two principal "gates" of the zodiac Porphyrios says (Cave 
of the Nymphs, xi) : "Theologists assert that these two gates are 
Cancer and Capricornus ; but Plato calls them entrances. And the- 
ologists say of these that Cancer is the gate through which souls 
descend, and Capricornus that through which they ascend. Cancer 
is indeed northern, and adapted to descent; but Capricornus is 
southern, and adapted to ascent." Thus the northern signs, he says, 



i 3 2 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

"pertain to souls descending into generation" ; and the Milky Way 
(yakatjias) was "so called from the milk with which the souls are 
nourished when they fall into generation." But the southern gate 
is that through which souls departing from the generative sphere 
"ascend to the gods." In Plato's allegory (Republic, x. 14) Er 
saw "two openings, adjoining one another, in the earth, and exactly 
opposite them two openings above in the heaven" ; and "he beheld 
the souls on one side taking their departure at one of the openings 
in the heaven and the corresponding opening in the earth, after 
judgment had been passed upon them ; while at the other two open- 
ings he saw them arriving, squalid and dirty, or pure and bright, 
according as they ascended from earth, or descended from heaven." 
The solstitial "gates" pertain to the sphere of generation; but the 
gate of Aries, the vernal equinox, is, according to this symbolism, 
the entrance to eternal life, while the autumnal equinox, or Libra- 
gate, signifies the reverse. When the nights have become longer 
than the days, the powers of darkness appear to be gaining the 
ascendancy. 

As regents of the northern and southern quarters, Ioannes and 
Iakobos are the wardens of the solstitial gates; while Simon and 
Andreas, as regents of the eastern and western quarters, hold the 
keys of the equinoctial gates. In the Chhandogya Upanishad (iii. 
13) the five prdnas are termed "the keepers of the gates of the 
heaven- world." But in the historicized version of the Iesous-mythos 
"Petros" (Simon) is given all the keys, and is deprived of his great- 
est honor, that of carrying the cross of Iesous, that service being 
performed, according to the falsified text, by "a man of Cyrene, 
Simon by name." The discussion between Iesous and his compan- 
ions relates to the respective functions of the twelve ruling powers, 
and the conclusion arrived at is that all are necessary and may 
therefore be regarded as of equal importance. 

The twin Sons of Thunder, as personified electro-vital forces (the 
positive and negative currents of the sacred triple fire), are first to 
receive the cup of the Master, and they are given the thrones at the 
right and the left hand. These twins are, of course, virtually in- 
separable, and so also are Simon- And r eas and Iesous-Ioudas. 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 133 

Iesous Foretells That All Will Forsake Him When He Is Handed Over to be 
Crucified— The Solitude of the Great Ordeal 

[Mk. xiv. 18-20, 27, 29-31, 26. Lk. xxii. 39] 

As they were eating, he said : 

"This night one of you will hand me over to the final ordeal 
which is prefigured by this feast." 

Then were they filled with sorrow, and they said to him one by 
one: 

" 'T is not I, I hope." 

Said he to them : 

" 'T is one of the five, he who dips with me in the one bowl. And 
this very night you will all forsake me." 

But Simon said to him : 

"Although the others all desert you, yet I shall not." 

Iesous said to him : 

"Of a truth I say to you, This night, before the cock crows twice, 
you will deny me thrice." 

But Simon, with warm fidelity, declared : 

"Not so! Never shall I deny you or forsake you, even if 't is 
necessary for me to die with you." 

And so in turn said they all. And when they had chanted a pasan, 
they came out, and went, as usual, to the mountain of the olive- 
trees. 

COMMENTARY 

At the crucifixion Iesous himself is the sacrificial Lamb — astro- 
nomically the Sun in Aries, impaled on the cross formed by the 
ecliptic intersecting the equator. At the feast of the vernal equinox 
the twelve companions partake of the flesh and blood of the slain 
lamb (or "young ram"), and Iesous gives them the bread and wine 
as symbols of his own flesh and blood. Hence he is represented in 
the Fourth Gospel (vi. 54) as saying, ''He who devours my flesh 
and drinks my blood has eternal life." This symbolism of rending 
and devouring ( Tpcoyew ) raw flesh is peculiarly Bakchic ; and the 
strange flesh-eating rite is frequently mentioned in Greek literature, 
as in Euripides, Bakchai, 139. The sign Aries, the place of the 



i 3 4 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Sun's exaltation, pertains to Iesous in a special way, and as Ioudas 
is the regent of this sign, Iesous and Ioudas are represented as eat- 
ing from the same bowl, both dipping in it. Inasmuch as Iesous is 
crucified at a place called "The Skull," and Aries astrologically 
corresponds to the head, the "bowl" is here an appropriate symbol. 
The highest of the sacred trances is a state of complete abstrac- 
tion mentally; therefore in the allegory the disciples are said to 
desert their Master. Simon, as the reasoning power, denies that 
Master, the pure undifferentiated Thought. 

2. The Beginning of the Fourth and Most Sacred Trance 

Iesous and the Two Sons of Thunder Enter the Sacred Enclosure of Life — 
The Highest Centre of the Two Fires 

[Mk. xiv. 32-35, 37-42] 

They ascended the mountain of the olive-trees, and came to the 
sacred field at its summit ; and then Iesous said to his companions : 

"Sit ye here, while I go to the altar for solemn meditation." 

He took with him Ioannes and Iakobos; and he began to be 
absorbed and withdrawn into himself. Said he to the two dis- 
ciples : 

"My soul is isolated, as at the hour of death. Abide ye here and 
stay awake." 

Then he went forward a little, to the altar, and meditated in the 
solitude. Returning, he found the two disciples asleep ; and he said 
to them : 

"Awake ! Could you not remain awake one hour ? Keep watch, 
lest you fail in this ordeal. Strong is the eager spirit, but feeble 
the body of clay !" 

Again he went to the altar; and again returning found them 
asleep, and awakened them, repeating the same words. He went a 
third time, and on returning said to them : 

"Are you still sleeping, and taking your rest? Sleep ne'er lays 
hands on me, and soon I shall be free from Death himself. My 
hour has come. Arise, let us be going; for he who hands me over 
is at hand." 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 135 



COMMENTARY 



The "field" (xcoptov) of the text was most certainly a sacred 
enclosure (refiepos ) , into which Iesous entered to engage in medi- 
tation. Such temnoed hills were many in ancient days. A hill or 
mountain, when dedicated to a God, was marked off at the summit, 
forming a sacred precinct, or enclosure, in which usually an altar 
(ficofjios ) was erected; and the trees in the enclosure were carefully 
preserved. These sacred fields were devoted to religious uses, and 
holy men resorted to them to contemplate. In the allegory the 
mountain of the olive-trees corresponds to the sign Cancer ; and the 
"Enclosure of Life," as it was called by the ancients, is the quad- 
rangle (tt\iv6iov) formed by the stars ft, y, 7], and £ of Ursa 
Minor, which is the northern paranatellon of Cancer. The pole- 
star, which, as Hipparchos says, "is the pivot (770X09) of the kos- 
mos," was said to be the Lord of this Enclosure. The quadrangle 
of Ursa Minor was also called the Chariot ( s 'Auijvr)) , while the 
similar figure in Ursa Major was the Wain, or Wagon ("A/xa^a). 
The two constellations were not known as Bears ( v A/>ictoi) in the 
older system. The Pole-star, as a reduplication of the Sun, sym- 
bolizes the Eternal Self in man; the Chariot (Ursa Minor), also 
called the Enclosure of Life, represents the causal body; and the 
Wagon (Ursa Major) stands for the physical body. The contour 
of each of these two constellations is marked out by seven stars, 
which represent the vital centres. The third vehicle of the soul, the 
psychic body, has for its sign the Ship, Argo Navis. But the 
"city" of the allegory also stands for the physical body: the entry 
of Iesous into the city signifies a divine influx, and the initiation 
takes place on the material plane. Here in the Enclosure, however, 
Iesous is, for the time, in the consciousness of the causal body, at the 
divine centre, through the action of the kundalim. The two cur- 
rents, Ida and pingala, do not reach the seventh centre, but bifurcate 
at the sixth, whereupon the central current, sushumna, comes into 
play and passes on to the seventh centre. The two currents are per- 
sonified by Ioannes and Iakobos, who fall asleep three times, as 
there is a temporary cessation of the current, apparently, at each of 



136 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

the three lower somatic divisions. At the fourth division it is time 
for the third current to energize; hence Ioudas now appears upon 
the stage, his cue to enter being the words just spoken by Iesous. 

3. The Passing into the Final Stage of the 
Most Sacred Trance 

The Soul of the Entranced Is Handed Over to Judgment 

[Mk. xiv. 43-45. Matt. xxvi. 49, 50. Lk. xxii. 52, 53. Matt. xxvi. 56. 
Mk. xiv. 51, 52] 

And even as he was speaking, came Ioudas, and with him came 
a crowd armed with swords and clubs, sent by the head-priest. 
Now, he who was handing Iesous over had given them a concerted 
signal, saying: 

"That one whom I shall kiss, 't is he. Take him, and lead him 
away safely." 

And now, going up to Iesous, he said, "Master, Master!" and 
kissed him again and again. And Iesous said to him : 

"Comrade, perform the duty assigned to you." 

Then they apprehended Iesous. Said he to the priests and tem- 
ple-guards : 

"Have you come out against me with swords and clubs, as if to 
capture a bandit ? You dared not raise your hands against me when 
I was with you in the temple day after day. But this is your hour, 
when darkness reigns !" 

Then all his disciples deserted him and fled, save Ioudas, who 
tried to go along with him. Now, Ioudas was wearing only a linen 
cloth, which was wrapped about his loins ; and when the young men 
seized him he tore himself away from them, leaving the linen cloth 
in their hands, and fled naked. 

COMMENTARY 

The coming of Ioudas to the sacred enclosure allegorically marks 
the highest stage of the mystic trance (samddhi) , the lucid vision of 
the seer. But before the soul receives final liberation, its merits and 
demerits must be decided upon, and all its past rises up against it. 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 



137 



Hence, in the ritualistic representation, Ioudas places Iesous in the 
hands of his enemies, the powers of darkness. 

The o-lvScov, "linen cloth,'' was a sort of veil, of filmy muslin, 
used in the Mysteries. When handling the sacred objects in the 




Hephaistos, Kratos and Bia Chaining Prometheus 



After Flaxman 



ceremony called "the giving in turn of the sacred objects" (irapd- 
Soctls TOiv iepcov), the mystai were permitted to see them only 
through this veil. Here Ioudas (whose name has been dishonestly 
expunged from the text in this passage) wears the veil as his only 
garment. When the lower powers strive to apprehend him, they 
retain only the veil, while he, the naked abstract truth personified, 
escapes from their grasp. Thus wearing the sindon about his loins, 
Ioudas figures as an athlete. In Mark xiv. 51 his name has been 
expunged, and he is referred to as "a certain young man" who was 



138 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

a follower of Iesous, and who offers resistance to arrest. This 
incident is suppressed by the compilers of the other Gospels; but 
they retain the implausible story about one of the disciples drawing 
a sword and cutting off the ear of the high-priest's servant. Ac- 
cording to John, the swordsman was "Simon Peter." Very proba- 
bly Simon was named also in the Synoptics, the story having been 
invented to add glory to the patron saint of the church, and the 
name afterwards suppressed by later "historians" who had decided 
that the incident of the sword was rather discreditable to "Peter." 
Ioudas is surnamed 'Io-zca/OKwrns, a word which, by juggling with 
the Hebrew alphabet, is made to mean "of Kerioth," but which 
some authorities translate as "hired." More probably it should be 
lo"xypoTr}<; } "Might," even as the assistants of Hephaistos in the 
crucifixion of Prometheus are named Bia, "Force," and Kpdros, 
"Strength." 

4. The Trial in the Night— The Plane of 
Subjective Perception 

The Seership of Iesous Is Mockingly Tested 
[Mk. xiv. 53-59, 60, 61. Matt. xxvi. 64-66. Lk. xxii. 63, 64] 

They led Iesous away to the head-priest ; and the priests and the 
old men met as a council. And Simon, having fled, had made a 
detour, and by running had entered the court of the head-priest in 
advance of them; and he was sitting with the servants, warming 
himself at the blaze of the fire. Now, the head-priest and the whole 
council were searching out evidence against Iesous, to justify in- 
flicting on him the death penalty. For many were offering false 
and conflicting testimony against him ; and some of them made mis- 
leading and mendacious statements, saying : 

"We heard him say, 'I shall destroy this man-made temple, and 
in three days I shall build another by superhuman means.' ' 

But even as to this their statements were contradictory. Then 
said the head-priest to Iesous : 

"Have you no answer to what these witnesses testify against 
you?" 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 139 

But Iesous stood mute, refusing to reply. Again the head-priest 
interrogated him : 

"You are the 'king of the starry realm,' are you not?" 

Said Iesous : 

" 'T is you who have said it." 

Then the head-priest rent his garments, and said to the council : 

"He arrogates to himself divine authority! What further proof 
do we need ? You have heard his blasphemous claim : what is your 
decision ?" 

They answered : 

"He deserves the death penalty." 

And the men who were guarding Iesous made him the butt of a 
children's game : having blindfolded him, they kept giving him 
slaps, and saying to him : 

"Tell who it is that struck you — prove your seership." 

COMMENTARY 

This trial of Iesous is a semi-farcical ritualistic performance, as 
when in a secret society the candidate for initiation is placed on his 
defence against trumped-up charges, to test his patience and self- 
control. The keenest satire, however, is here directed at the exoteric 
priests, the believers in an anthropomorphic God, who are horrified 
at the "blasphemy" of Iesous when he asserts his innate Divinity. 
Now, a "religion" that denies the Godhood of Man is the very 
worst form of irreligion. Always it is these fanatical devotees of a 
fancied extra-cosmical Deity who seek to put to death the divine 
principle in humanity. Towering above these ignoble priests stands 
the sublime figure of Iesous, the typical Man, firm in the faith that 
he is God's own Son and King of the star-strewn Universe. 

As part of the ritual, the guards play "blind man's buff" with 
Iesous, bantering him, to test his power of psychic vision. In this 
incident it is the votaries of psychism who are satirized. The pos- 
session of the psychic faculties is no evidence of spirituality : a man 
may be able to use all the five psychic senses, and yet be incapable 
of spiritual perception and cognition; while, on the other hand, 
one may, without having developed the psychic senses, receive clear 



140 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

intuitions of spiritual truths. The childish game in the allegory 
emphasizes the fact that the exercise of the psychic senses is a mere 
puerility, and not a means of acquiring true wisdom. True seer- 
ship is the faculty of direct cognition, and is beyond all sense-per- 
ception. The senses, psychic and physical, perceive only things 
objective. 

Simon Denies His Master— The Erailty of Reason 
[Mk. xiv. 66-69. Matt. xxvi. 72-74. Mk. xiv. 72] 

Meanwhile Simon was sitting in the courtyard below. Came one 
of the head-priest's servant-girls; and noticing Simon warming 
himself, she looked at him closely and said : 

"You too were one of the companions of Iesous." 

But he denied it, saying : 

"I do not know, nor can I guess, what you are talking about." 

And he went out into the porch, in the shadow; and a cock 
crowed. The servant-girl saw him there, and she said to the by- 
standers : 

"This man is one of them." 

Again he denied it, swearing a solemn oath. After a while the 
bystanders approached Simon, and said : 

"You certainly are one of them; for your high-flown speech be- 
trays you." 

But he affirmed with an oath : 

"I do not know the man." 

And directly a second time the cock crowed. Simon, recalling 
the words of Iesous, "Before the cock crows twice, you will deny 
me thrice," gave way to bitter tears. 

COMMENTARY 

Simon, as a personification of the reasoning faculty, is the nega- 
tionist of abstract thought. Ratiocination, the mental process of 
deducing consequences from premises, pertains to the three worlds 
of form, but not to the formless world of abstract ideas. But when 
he repents his unfaithfulness Simon becomes the philosophic reason, 
a true noetic power. The cock was considered a solar bird. After the 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 



i 4 i 



first denial, which signifies the negation on the lowest mental plane, 
that of the material brain-conscionsness, it gives a warning crow ; 
and after the denials signifying negation on the other planes it again 
gives reminder of the Sun, the 
Nous. In Matthew and Luke the 
cock is permitted to crow but once, 
the "historians" evidently perceiv- 
ing that the first crow (taking the 
story literally) should have re- 
called, to Simon's mind the pre- 
diction made by Iesous. 

5. The Trial in the Daytime— 
The Plane of Objective Action 

Iesous Stands Mute before the Gov- 
ernor—The Silence of the Initiate 

[Mk. xv. 1-5] 

At dawn of day the priests and 
the old men constituting the coun- 
cil, after due deliberation, having 
put Iesous in chains, carried him 
away, and handed him over to the 
tetrarch, saying: 

"We found this man proclaim- 
ing that he himself is an Anointed King." 

Then the tetrarch asked him, saying : 

"So you are the 'king of the starry realm' ?" 

Iesous answered him : 

" 'T is you who say it." 

The priests kept making accusations against him. 
again questioned him, saying : 

"Will you not answer? Look you, they are bringing many 
charges against you." 

But Iesous, to the astonishment of the tetrarch, made no further 
reply. 




Hermes and Solar Bird 



The tetrarch 



142 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

The silence preserved by Iesous indicates the oath of inviolable 
secrecy by which initiates of every degree were bound. If the trial 
were historical, his silence would be unaccountable. 

The appellative 6 X/hotos ("the Anointed" ), as applied to Iesous, 
is simply equivalent to "the King" : for only priests and kings were 
anointed, and Iesous was certainly not a priest. But the high initi- 
ates were also called "kings," and the Athenian Archon who super- 
vised the Mysteries had the title Basileus, "King." Before the 
crucifixion Iesous is the Chrestos, the worthy candidate; after the 
crucifixion, having entered into the realm appointed to him by the 
Father, he becomes the Christ os, the King. 

The "Son of Time" Is Freed— The Self of Illusion 
[Mk. xv. 6-9, 11-15] 

As one of the rites at this feast, a prisoner was released to the 
people, whomsoever they petitioned for, and to him they gave his 
freedom ; but they received also another prisoner, one condemned to 
death, and him they made the mock-king of the feast until he was 
raised upon the cross. And they came to the tetrarch, and they 
cried out : 

"Iesous ! Iesous ! Let Iesous be freed !" 

The tetrarch answered them, saying : 

"Is it your will that I release to you this 'King of the Starry 
Realm' ?" 

But they cried out : 

"No ; let him be crucified ! It is Iesous Barabbas whom we desire 
to have freed." 

This Iesous Barabbas, who was lying bound in prison, was one 
who had committed many crimes, and was under sentence of death 
for murder. Said then the tetrarch : 

"Seeing that these two men have the same name, I am not un- 
willing to free them both." 

But the people, prompted by the priests, cried out : 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 143 

''Set Iesous Barabbas free; and let us crown this other Iesous as 
the mock-king of the feast, and then let him be crucified." 

So the tetrarch released to them Iesous Barabbas, and handed 
over Iesous to be their mock-king until he was crucified. 

COMMENTARY 

Prisoners were released 
at the Attic Thesmo- 
phoria, Dionysia and Pan- 
athenaia, and presumably 
also at the Dionysiac An- 
thesteria and other state 
festivals. At the Satur- 
nalian festival, derived by 
the Romans from the Hel- 
lenic Kronia, slaves were 
given their freedom while 
the festivities lasted, and 
the mock-king 
was treated 
with derision. 
According to 
Dio Chrysos- 
tom, the mock-king of the 
Sakaia was chosen from 
among criminals con- 
demned to death, and 
after being feasted royally 
for three days, he was 
stripped, scourged and 
crucified. Such exoteric 
ceremonies, often hideous, 

brutal and indecent, appear to have been profane travesties on the 
portions of the dramatic representations in the Mysteries which 
reached the rabble through renegades from the lower degrees. It is 
only by such perfidy that the notes on the Mystery-Drama could have 




Helios 



144 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

fallen into the hands of the compilers of the Synoptics. The story of 
the crucifixion of Iesous, even in the pseudo-Jewish form given it in 
the Gospels, is clearly descriptive of a Greek festival of Dionysos. 
Iesous, as the mock-king, is taken to represent the God of the fes- 
tival, and is crowned. But the crown should be of ivy; and the 
crown of thorns belongs on the darkened Sun, who is supposed to 
be crucified on the cross of the equinox. 

In the received text the name of the malefactor who was liber- 
ated is simply "Barabbas" ; but, according to Origines and other 
reliable authorities, some of the ancient manuscripts gave the name 
as "Iesous Barabbas," and this reading appears in the Armenian 
version. Bar-abbas, a word of Semitic derivation, signifies "son of 
a father" ; it is probably a substitute for "son of Time," as this 
Iesous personifies the false Ego or illusory personality of the tem- 
poral world. It is, allegorically, the "murderer" of the Real. In 
the "historicized" version, Pilate (who has no place in the allegory) 
takes the part that properly belongs to the tetrarch, the Regent of 
the Scorpio-quarter of the zodiac ; but in working up the story the 
"historians" have made Pilate a weak character, a mere caricature 
of a Roman governor. As chief magistrate, he asks the rabble what 
he shall do with Iesous, and then because of their outcry sentences 
to death a man whom he has publicly proclaimed to be innocent. He 
then lays aside his gubernatorial dignity, and assumes the office of 
an executioner and flogs Iesous! Under either Jewish or Roman 
law, the trial of Iesous, as related in the Gospels, would be a trav- 
esty on judicial procedure. 

The Kingship of Iesous Is Mockingly Acknowledged 
[Matt, xxvii. 27-32] 

So they led Iesous outside the judgment-hall; and having taken 
off his chains, they stripped him of his garments, and robed him in 
flowers which they had plaited. Then they placed on his head a 
crown of ivy; and in his right hand they placed a narthex, tipped 
with a pine-cone and wrapped with a vine-branch. And bowing 
the knee before him, they mockingly saluted him ! 

"Hail, King of the Starry Realm !" 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 



H5 



And they kept striking him on the head with their thyrsi. While 
they were thus making sport of him, the soldiers came, bringing 
the cross, and led him away to crucify him. As they were coming 
out, they chanced upon Simon, and they pressed him into service to 
carry the cross of Iesous. 



COMMENTARY 

The puerility of the psychic powers was ridiculed in the game of 
"blind man's buff" played by the temple-guards ; and here the mimic 
coronation satirizes the vanity of earthly greatness and 
glory. True power and splendor pertain to the spir- 
itual Self. As a dramatic representation, Iesous is 
made the mock-king of the festival, and is given the 
emblematic properties of Dionysos : the kalamos 
("reed") of the falsified text should be a narthex or 
thyrsos, a plant-stalk, pointed with a pine-cone and 
decorated with ivy and vine-leaves, used as a wand in 
the Bakchic ceremonies. The crown of thorns is a 
distinctive property of Helios, and it should be placed 
on the Sun, and not on Iesous, whose crown should be 
the ivy chaplet of Dionysos. Iesous, in the character 
of Dionysos, is dramatically crucified on earth syn- 
chronously with the crucifixion of the Sun in the 
heavens. 

Simon, as regent of the sign Pisces, carries the cross, 
as it were, on his back, since the equinox comes at the 
first point of the next sign, Aries. Similarly Atlas (the 
Phoenician At el, "Darkness") in the western region 
sustains the heavens on his shoulders. In the "historicized" text 
the attempt is made, by a transparent device, to disguise the fact that 
the cross-bearer was Simon the disciple. Simon, as the inferior 
reasoning faculty, thrice denied his Master ; here, as the philosophic 
Reason, he carries the cross. When the mind is kept centred on the 
external aspects of life it becomes materialistic ; but w T hen it is cen- 
tred on things spiritual it sustains the soul in its effort to gain 
emancipation from material conditions. 



A 



Thyrsos 



146 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

6. The Crucifixion — The Mystic "Anointing" of Iesous 

Iesous, Crucified between Two Malefactors, Is Mocked by the 
Priests and the Rabble • 

[Mk. xv. 22, 25-27, 29-32. Lk. iv. 23. Mk. xv. 23. Lk. xxiii. 39-43. 
Mk. xv. 40. Lk. xxiii. 27, 28] 

They brought Iesous to a place called "The Skull." It was now- 
past the third hour, and they crucified him at that place. The in- 
scription naming his crime read : 

"The 'King of the Starry Realm.' " 

With him they crucified two bandits, one on his right hand, and 
the other on his left. And the passers-by kept scoffing at him, and 
saying : 

"Aha ! Boaster, who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in 
three days, create for yourself a new body; for the one you have 
must die upon the cross." 

Likewise the priests, taking trite sayings for their texts, mock- 
ingly preached at him : 

" 'Physician, heal thyself.' He healed others, and saved them 
from the grave; but he 's unable to save himself." And: " 'Seeing 
is believing.' Let the unanointed 'king of the starry realm' now 
comedown from the cross, that we may see and believe." 

The soldiers also mocked him, offering him wine, and saying : 

"O King of the Feast, receive this cup of Lord Bakchos." 

And one of the two malefactors who had been lashed to the cross 
on either side of him taunted him, saying : 

"Are n't you really a king? Save yourself and us." 

But the other malefactor reprehended him, saying : 

"Have you no sense of comradeship, seeing that you 're under 
the same judgment? You and I are receiving our just deserts for 
the crimes we committed, but this man has done nothing out of the 
way." And to the Master he said, "Remember me, Iesous, when 
you come into your kingdom." 

Said Iesous to him : 

"Verily I say to you, To-day you shall be with me in the Gar- 
den of the Gods !" 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 147 

His mother and his sisters stood looking on; and many women 
in the crowd wept and wailed. Iesous said to them : 

"Daughters of the generative sphere, weep not for me, but weep 
for yourselves and for your children." 

COMMENTARY 

The priests, as usual, are satirized : they take old saws as texts 
for their stupid attempts at wit. In the saying, "Physician, heal 
thyself," the Greek verb also signifies "save." The statement in 
Mark xv. 23 that the soldiers gave Iesous wine drugged with myrrh 
appears to be a "historical" version of an incident more character- 
istic of the Bakchic festival. 

The two malefactors personify the dual nature which is inter- 
mediate between the mortal and the immortal, and of which all that 
is pure and noble is preserved, while that which is debased perishes. 
The statement in Luke xxiii. 39, that the two malefactors were 
"suspended," indicates that they, and Iesous as well, were merely 
bound to the cross in the performance of the drama. The verb 
used, Kpefxdo-ao-Oou, has the derivative /cpe/xa#pa, a net or similar 
contrivance used in the performance of Greek tragedy when it be- 
came necessary to exhibit an actor or an image of a Deity in mid- 
air or in other difficult positions. The Gospels speak of but one 
cross, not three crosses; and the allegory calls for only one. The 
"Paradise" ("park," or "garden") of the garbled text is simply 
the mythological Garden in the West, where the seven daughters 
of Xight (the Hesperides) guarded the golden apples that hung 
from the Pole-tree, the "tree of life." 

The golden nimbus, or "glory," which in conventional Christian 
art (which copied it from pagan sources) surrounds the head of 
Iesous, as pictorially represented, contains a cross ; it represents the 
solar disk. The whole representation (in which the features of 
Iesous, although given a mournful expression, are strikingly sug- 
gestive of ancient statues of Dionysos, the Savior-God) is a cor- 
rect pictograph of the crucified Sun-God ; but it also depicts the halo 
which radiates from the brain when the triple fire of the speirema 
is active, the bifurcating currents of the fire forming the cross. The 



148 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

crucifixion is in reality the "birth from above," the emergence of 
the deathless form, the "solar body," which is formed by the crea- 
Xv tiye power of Thought. Quite literally, therefore, Iesous is cruci- 
fied in the place called "The Skull." As the crucifixion is allegori- 
cal of his spiritual rebirth, the words addressed by Iesous to the 
mortal mothers are full of significance. 

The Mystic Death of Iesous— The Crowning of the King 
[Mk. xv. 33, 34, 38, 37] 

When the sixth hour was past, the Sun was shorn of his effulgent 
rays, and was crowned with blackened ones, as if he were gar- 
landed with piercing thorns; and for three dread hours a veil of 
darkness hung o'er all the earth. As the ninth hour ended, Iesous 
cried out with mighty voice : 

"My Heavenly Father, now thou hast anointed me, and hast 
placed the promised crown upon my brow !" 

And behold, at his triumphant cry the veil of darkness that hid 
the heavenly height was torn away, and the Sun was crowned anew 
with golden rays. Thus Iesous breathed his last. 

COMMENTARY 

The number nine, which was with the Greeks a peculiarly sacred 
number, is called mystically the number of initiation: being the 
highest of the digits, it is followed by ten, the synthesis of the fin- 
gers in the digital system of counting, and ten is therefore termed 
the perfect number, and as such is ascribed to the Sun. Since, after 
reaching nine, the counting begins anew with the unit on the next 
scale, nine is regarded as the number of renewal, of beginning 
anew ; and thus it is indicative of the spiritual rebirth, the entering 
into life eternal. The Greek word ivvia, "nine," is etymologically 
related to via y "new" ; and the same is true of the Sanskrit navam 
and nava, and the Latin novem and novus. Moreover, nine is com- 
posed of three triads, and thus symbolizes the three divine Hypos- 
tases manifested in the three worlds of form. Of the four tran- 
scendental states of consciousness, the three lower ones mav be 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 149 

likened, by analogy, to the states of waking, dreaming, and dream- 
less sleep; the fourth is the noetic, spiritual illumination, that of 
direct cognition. Now, at the third hour— at its expiration, strictly 
speaking — Iesous is crucified : when the kundalini reaches the brain- 
centres the consciousness passes from the physical to the psychic 
plane. At the expiration of the sixth hour, the Sun (the mind) is 
shorn of its rays, and darkness reigns : the consciousness here passes 
from the psychic state (corresponding to that of dreaming) to the 
stage that is likened to dreamless blankness. At the ninth hour 
Iesous "breathes his last," the veil is rent, and the Sun is again 
crowned with its rays : the consciousness has passed into the purely 
divine state, the veil of illusion is destroyed, and the wondrous il- 
lumination is attained. 

The unholy hands of the men who "historicized" this superb alle- 
gory have made sad havoc of it; but, fortunately, in their igno- 
rance of its true meaning, they retained most of the essential details 
of the allegory and disguised the rest clumsily and ineffectually. 
Thus the unheroic and despairing cry, ' My God, my God, why hast 
thou forsaken me?" (literally, according to the Greek, "left me in 
the lurch"), an infelicitous quotation from Psalms xxii. 1, is incom- 
patible with the narrative, whether the latter is accepted as history 
or as allegory, for in either sense the death of Iesous is his triumph. 
The absurdity of this spurious last utterance becomes glaring when 
the context of the quotation is examined; for verse 6 of the Psalm 
reads, "I am a worm, and no man." Yet the ecclesiastical makers 
of "history" have tried desperately to make this Psalm apply 
prophetically to the crucifixion of Iesous, and have not hesitated 
even at forgery: thus in verse 16 they have altered the text, in the 
Vulgate and in the Syriac version, to read, "They pierced my hands 
and my feet" ; and the authorized English version, originally made 
from the Vulgate, still retains this fraudulent reading, although the 
Hebrew text gives "Like a lion," instead of "They pierced." In 
the present attempt to undo the work of the sacrilegious priests who 
thus falsified the text the necessary changes have been made solely 
to restore the consistency of the narrative, its allegoric sense and 
its Hellenic coloring. 



150 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

7. The Resurgence of the Sun-God— The Self Eternal 

Iesous Rises from the Tomb as Lord of Life and Wisdom, and Shines 
Forth in Deathless Youth and Beauty 

[Matt, xxviii. 57, 59-61. Lk. xxiii. 53. Mk. xvi. 1-3. Matt, xxviii. 2. 

Mk. xvi. 4-6] 

When it was evening, Ioseph, the father of Iesous, came and 
claimed the body of his son. He took it down from the cross, and 
having wrapped it in a spotless linen cloth, laid it in a tomb that 
was hewn in the rock, wherein mortal never had been laid. Then 
he rolled a great stone against the entrance to the tomb, securely 
closing it. Mariam, the mother of Iesous, and Mariam, his sister, 
were with Ioseph; and they beheld him lay the body in the tomb. 
After three days the two women returned to the tomb, coming to it 
as the Sun was rising; and they brought aromatic oil to anoint the 
body. They were saying to each other : 

"Who will roll away the stone for us from the door of the tomb ?" 

For 't was a massive boulder. But even as they spoke, the earth 
quaked, and the solid rocks were rent ; and as they looked, the stone 
was rolled away. And entering into the tomb, they saw standing 
at the right side a God in the semblance of a beauteous youth. His 
form was as resplendent as the Sun, and his vesture was white and 
glittering as with lightnings. And this sun-rayed God said to 
them : 

"You have come to anoint Iesous, the Crucified. 'T is not he 
who is here, but his risen Self. Behold, I have been anointed King 
of the Realm of the Starry Spaces !" 

COMMENTARY 

Ioseph, the Carpenter, or Builder (tekton), is the Demiourgos, 
World-builder, or aggregate of creative forces in the material uni- 
verse; in this sense he is the earthly father of Iesous.* The two 
women, the mother of Iesous and the fallen sister whom he re- 
formed, are also Demiurgic Goddesses, for they personify respec- 



THE ANOINTING OF IESOUS 151 

tively the pure primordial world-substance and its polarized emana- 
tion, that is, the higher world-soul and the lower. 

Iesous was crucified dramatically while the sun was impaled on the 
cross in the heavens ; so, also, in this final scene of the drama his 
resurrection takes place as the sun is rising in the east. Poetically 
the Resurrection is symbolized by the Dawn. In the superb imagery 
of the Hellenic solar cult the perfected man, the initiate, became 
Dionysos, the Sun-God. In the Synoptics, which give discordant 
accounts of the resurrection, the allegory has been falsified by the 
unscrupulous priests who converted the drama into "history." Com- 
paring the three accounts, however, it is clear that the white-robed 
"young man" who, according to Mark, appears to the women is the 
risen Iesous, and is not merely a messenger who informs them that 
Iesous has departed. In Matthew this youth is an "angel" (a God), 
and in Luke he manifests as two men or "angels/' 

The "new tomb" of the Creative Logos is the ideal mould of the 
solar body; the latter is formed from the pure aether, or celestial 
fire, after the pattern of the spiritual body (pncumatiko)i soma), 
which itself is without substantiality. Allegorically the "tomb" is 
hewn in the rock, since the spiritual birth takes place while the soul 
is incarnated, while still in the physical body. The two women, 
coming to anoint the body of the Crucified, find the stone (the illu- 
sion of material life) rolled away, and as they enter the rock-hewn 
house of Death they find it transformed into the house of Life, 
and before them, like the Sun ascendant in the east, stands the risen 
Iesous, the Anointed King in his resplendent robes, eternalized in 
ineffable beauty and unfading youth. 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 

Wouldst read the story of the self-born King? 

First learn the splendid language of the sun, 
The speech of stars, the moon's coy whispering, 

The music of the planets, and of one, 
Our Mother Earth, crooning her cradle-song 5 

To her uncounted babes, who, when they gain 
The soul's full stature, to the heavens belong: 

Read then this tale of one the heavens have ta'en — 
A mortal who, with inner light relumed, 

And making Wisdom's jewelled crown his own, - 10 
Donned his bright solar vesture and assumed 

Among the deathless Gods his rightful throne. 

I 

Beside the sanctifying stream that flows Matt. iii. 1-6 

Across the field which guardian trees enclose 

Stood the wise Teacher who, presiding o'er 15 

The Lesser Mysteries, the psychic lore, 
In limpid water bathes the candidates 
Whom he to holy Wisdom consecrates:- 
Chosen are they from those four castes decreed 
To be the nation's head, heart, soul and seed. 20 

His rite proclaiming 'neath the vaulted sky, 
He cried, and echoing hills prolonged the cry : 
"Make pure your hearts, your minds make crystal-clear; 
For lo, the Starry Realm has now drawn near !" 
Then from the city and four shires along 25 

The sacred river, came the hastening throng 
Of aspirants for knowledge recondite, 
Eager to share the purifying rite ; 

152 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 153 

And all received the holy rite ordained, 

Unless a few whose souls were deeply stained 30 

With horrid crimes — for they, alas, must make 

Atonement in the Acherusian lake, 

Borne thither by the turbid streams that flow 

From Death's dark portal to the world below. 

But when the Teacher saw his rite decried Matt. iii. 7 

By them who immortality denied 36 

And by the priests who prized a creed outworn, 

Them he reproved with rugged words of scorn: 

"O brood of vipers ! who has bid you shun 

The Seer's fine frenzy ere it has begun ? 40 

False Learning's haughty but ignoble breed, Matt. xii. 34, 35 

How from your lips can noble truths proceed ? 

The mouth but speaks whatever thoughts may pour 

From the o'erflowing heart's abundant store : 

The wise man's lips are opened to impart 45 

Treasures of wisdom welling from his heart, 

The precious truths his diamond soul has conned 

On Life's pure pages in the worlds beyond ; 

But he, unwise, who only learns by rote 

The outer forms of knowledge, can but quote 50 

Dead thoughts of other men— a useless hoard 

Which he by study in his heart has stored. 

Whoso loves wisdom such false knowledge scorns. 

Do grapes on brambles grow, or figs on thorns? Matt. vii. 16-19 

Thus every fruit-tree sound of trunk and root 55 

Has branches bending with its load of fruit, 

But on the tree with root and trunk unsound 

Shrivelled and worthless fruit alone is found. 

Against the worthless tree the axe is turned ; 

It is hewn down, and in the fire is burned. 60 

And even now behold the gleaming blade Matt. iii. 10 

Poised o'er the root of trees that are decayed. 

Therefore let sap flow in you, to unfold Matt. vii. 8, 9 

Blossoms that promise Wisdom's fruit of gold; 



154 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

And cease from saying, 'We, who have amassed 65 

Prodigious learning, are the reverend caste — 

Of mighty intellect and thought abstruse— 

Sprung, like Athena, from the head of Zeus/ 

I tell you that the Sire of men and Gods 

Can turn these stones, these dull-brained human clods, 70 

Into a race of sages and of seers : 

For when the Sire's winged Messenger appears 

And wakens with his wand the slumbering soul, 

Man's mystic memory will then unroll, 

As 't were a sacred scripture, and rehearse 75 

The wisdom of the boundless universe." 

Then came to him the working men, who toil Lk. iii. 10, 11 

At many crafts, and till the fertile soil, 

Saying, "What virtues, Teacher, must we show, 

Ere we the Mysteries of the Realm may know ?" 80 

He answered them : "The laws and moral rules Matt, xxiii. 2-7 

Are framed by men reputed in the schools 

Of formal learning to be wise and just ; 

Therefore obey them— for obey you must! 

But walk not as these reverend sages walk : 85 

To them the virtues are but themes for talk. 

They do up heavy burdens, which they pack, 

With pious unction, .on the people's back, 

But never, on the long and weary road, 

Lift but a finger to reduce the load. 90 

When they perform good deeds, it is because 

They seek men's favor, or to win applause ; 

To show their righteousness to all good folks 

They wear large amulets, and trim their cloaks 

With broad and showy hems ; and much they love 95 

To shine at banquets, and themselves to shove 

Into front seats at meetings ; and their hearts 

Rejoice when fawners greet them in the marts. 

I tell you, if no brighter virtues shine Matt. v. 20 

In you than in these wiselings who opine 100 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 155 

They are morality's directing helm, 

You shall not enter the supernal Realm." 

Next came to him the merchants, asking thus: Lk. iii. 12, 13 

"What virtues, Teacher, most will profit us, 

That we may win fair Wisdom's diadem?" 105 

And he, the Lesser Teacher, answered them : 

"Do not in things illusive count your worth, Matt. vi. 19, 20 

Nor lay up treasures on this transient earth, 

This world of ceaseless change and sure decay, 

Where Time, the primal robber, makes away no 

With all possessions, turning them to dust, 

As when moth-eaten or dissolved -by rust; 

But lay up for yourselves a lasting store Lk. xii. 33, 34 

Of virtue's gems and wisdom's golden lore. 

Make these your hoard in Heaven's eternity ; 115 

For where your treasure is your heart will be. 

To all who ask for knowledge, freely give, Matt. v. 42 

And lend your loving strength to all who live." 

Then came the soldiers, valiant men and strong, Lk. iii. 14 

Saying, "What virtues, Teacher, should belong 120 

To us? Can we attain the nobler life 

Whose trade is war, whose hands are red with strife?" 

He answered: "Ye who doughty deeds perform Matt. xi. 12 

Can carry the supernal Realm by storm : 

For men of mighty and resistless will 125 

Swiftly and surely force their way until, 

As conquerors of self and lords of fate, 

They reach the Realm and pass within its gate. 

But think not ye can take with violent hand Lk. iii. 14 

More wisdom than your merit may demand; 130 

And never play the part of dastard spies, 

Seeking to learn by shadowing the Wise, 

Who, being wise, are ever reticent ; 

But with a warrior's wage be ye content." 

The thronging candidates of every grade Lk. iii. 18 

He then addressed, and vividly portrayed 136 



156 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

The virtues transcendental, affluent, 

For mystics only, not for others, meant : 

"Divinely blest are they, of lucid mind, Matt. v. 6 

Who thirst for wisdom, striving Truth to know : 140 

For they shall Wisdom's wondrous fountain find, 

Whence limpid streams of living water flow. 
Divinely blest are they whose winged thought Matt. v. 3-5 

The starry Air, the Breath of God, would gain : 
For they shall by the sceptred Self be taught, . 145 

And in the realm of life eternal reign. 
Divinely blest are they who silent mourn 

The Sun-Lord nighted in the form of clay: 
For they shall rise with him, the Heaven-born, 

Flaming the dawn of an eternal Day. 150 

Divinely blest are they who wisely shun 

The way that leads f ore'er to mortal birth : 
For they shall wear the vesture of the Sun, 

Inheriting the new and sacred Earth. 
Divinely blest are they who truly claim Matt. v. 7-9 

Compassion as their crowning attribute: 156 

For they shall bathe in the absolving flame 

Of love divine, compassion absolute.. 
Divinely blest are they whose hearts are pure, 

Whose minds are like a sacred scroll unrolled : 160 

For they with vision clarified and sure 

The shining Self ancestral shall behold. 
Divinely blest are they who make their own . 

The Peace that conscious thought can never grasp : 
For they, before the Self's resplendent throne, 165 

The welcoming hand of the Etern shall clasp. 
Think not that I am come to set aside, Matt. v. 17, 19 

Or to relax, the virtues sanctified 
By law, and by the ancient sages writ ; 

I lessen not the law, but add to it. 170 

Whoever, then, the least law shall subvert, 
And wrongly teach his fellows, to their hurt, 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 157 

Shall rank as but a puling babe among 

The new disciples on the lowest rung 

Of Being's ladder, who the Realm would reach; 175 

But whoso shall obey these laws, and teach 

The noble virtues by the mystics known, 

Among disciples shall be called full-grown. 

Thus have you heard the law, of old ordained: Matt. v. 21, 22 

'Thou shalt not kill; and he whose hand is stained 180 

With murder shall to judgment stern be brought.' 

But unto you I say, Each angry thought 

Sullies the soul's white robes with ruddy stain, 

Which naught can wash away but grief and pain. 

Thus have you heard : 'Harsh penalties befit Matt. v. 27, 28 

The wantons who adultery commit.' 186 

But unto you I say, Guilty is he 

Who looks upon a woman lustfully; 

For though she stands in innocence apart, 

Her he has outraged in his lecherous heart. 190 

Thus have you heard : 'The wronged should feel no ruth, Matt. v. 

Demanding eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' 38, 39 

But unto you I say, Do not requite 

Evil with evil ; but should any smite 

You on the right cheek with his angry fist, 195 

Turn then the left cheek, rather than resist. 

Thus have you heard : 'Love thou thy friends alway, Matt. v. 

But hate thine enemies.' To you I say, 43, 44 

Love e'en your enemies, and but contemn 

The faults and vices you perceive in them. 200 

And as ye would that men should do to you, Lk. vi. 31 

Do ye to all, and selfishness subdue." 

Now, all the candidates were filled with awe, Lk. iii. 15-17 

Hearing him thus expound the higher law, 

And some among them foolishly surmised 205 

That he might be— in humble garb disguised— 

The grand Hierophant, he who presides 

Over the Greater Mysteries, and guides 



158 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

The souls of men. But their wise Teacher read 

Their covert thought, and to them all he said: 210 

"Nay ; I am but the Lesser Teacher : I 

Can but in flowing Water purify 

You my disciples. But the Superman, 

The mighty Bearer of the Mystic Fan, 

Is coming. I, whom ye deem wise and strong, 215 

Have not the strength to loose his sandal-thong! 

I in the lunar stream cleansed you of mire; 

But he in stellar Air and solar Fire 

Shall cleanse you utterly. Behold him swing 

His winnowing-fan, expertly scattering 220 

The chaff away, until the heaped-up store 

Of grain lies clean upon his threshing-floor! 

He garners then the wheat, the season's yield, 

But burns with fire the chaff-heap in the field." 

A man whose name was Jesus, and who dwelt Matt. iii. 18 

Beyond the four wide shires that like a belt 226 

Enring the city, haply was the last 

To reach the field, all others having passed 

In mystic ritual through the sacred stream : 

A Seer untaught was he, who from the dream 230 

Of mortal life was waking, and who knew 

The small old path that stretches to the True. 

Now, Jesus, coming late, met all the rest 

Returning homeward, and he them addressed : Matt. xi. 7-9, 1 1 

"What went ye to the sacred plain to see— 235 

A reed wind-shaken, rustling noisily ? 

Or went ye out expecting to behold 

A man in splendid garments hemmed with gold ? 

The men so clothed in homes palatial dwell ! 

What, then, did ye behold — a Seer? 'T is well. 240 

For unto you I say, No man among 

The mortals who from woman's womb are sprung 

Is greater than this Teacher who explains 

The Lesser Mysteries ; but whoe'er attains 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 159 

An 'infant' in the starry Realm to be 245 

Is verily a greater 'Man' than he." 

Then Jesus to the Lesser Teacher came, Matt. iii. 13, 15 

Of him the purifying rite to claim. 

"But nay," the Mystery-teacher said to him ; 

"Beside the Light in thee, mine own is dim : 250 

Initiation I should seek of thee, 

And wherefore comest thou, O Seer, to me?" 

He answered him : "To sow the Earth with Fire Lk. xii. 49, 50 

Is now my mystic task. Would I desire 

Thy ritual of Water if indeed 255 

That Fire were kindled in me ? Nay ; I need 

This first initiation at thy hand, 

Thy purifying rite; and I shall stand 

Unflinchingly, and with unruffled brow, 

The twelve soul-testing tortures. Therefore now Matt. iii. 15-17 

Initiate me, Teacher ; for 't is fit 261 

That from the ritual we should naught omit." 

Him then the Teacher took, and bathed him in 

The sacred stream that purifies from sin. 

And Jesus rose when he had thus been passed 265 

Thrice through the sacred stream ; and lo, the vast 

And vaulted sky was riven, and from above 

The holy Air descended like a dove 

Upon him : 't was the Mighty Mother's breath 

Blessing her Son with Love that knows not death 270 

Or sorrow. Then the Father's voice proclaimed 

From the high throne round which his glory flamed : 

"Worthy art thou ; and when by Time unbound, 

Thou shalt in my Eternal Realm be crowned." 

Jesus had lived, since he had last ta'en birth, Lk. iii. 23 

For twenty-eight untroubled years on earth, 276 

Knowing no grief of heart or stress of mind, 

Nor tried by the rude Tempter of mankind; 

But when he thus became initiate first Mk. i. 12, 15 

In Lesser Mysteries, a tempest burst 280 



160 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Within his soul, and him the sacred Air 

Drove forth into the desert, to a lair 

Of prowling beasts, a cavern's murky maze, 

And there he tarried two and forty days, 

Fasting the while. There the primeval Snake, Lk. iv. 2 

And fierce and crafty wild-beasts, sought to shake 286 

His faith and fortitude : for deep within 

The soul's recesses lurk the beasts of sin, 

The dormant passions, which become aroused 

When the divine and human are espoused. 290 

But Jesus, the enrapt enthusiast, 

Unmoved and firm, victoriously passed 

Through all temptations, doing unappalled 

The Heracleidan labors that are called 

The twelve great tortures of the neophyte. 295 

And then the Tempter, having failed to blight Lk. iv. 13 

The blossoms fair, of faith and love and hope, 

Which in the soul's glad mystic Springtime ope, 

Departed for the season, but resolved 

To vex each season as the year revolved. 300 

And unto Jesus, when he thus had won Mk. i. 13-20 

Firm footing on the path he had begun, 

Came the approving Gods, and for him made 

A royal banquet, and to him conveyed 

The secrets of the Silence whence proceed 305 

The melodies of Being, seven-keyed; 

For thus the Gods reward each man of might 

Who does the twelve initial tasks aright. 

Now, Jesus, having thus entirely learned 

The Lesser Teacher's ritual, then returned 310 

Out of the desert to his native shire, 

Exhorting all men straightway to acquire 

The wisdom of the coming Realm Divine, 

And saying: "Sleep not in the mire supine, 

But rise, and unto holy truths give ear ; 315 

For lo, the starry Realm now draweth near !" 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 161 

And coming to the sea's adjacent bound 

He walked along its shore, and haply found 

Two of his brothers; fishermen were they, 

And in the sea had spread, for finny prey, 320 

A dragnet, which with brawny arms they hauled. 

But Jesus, when he saw them, loudly called : 

"Simon and Andrew, come ye after me, 

And I shall teach you, brothers, how to be 

Fishers of men." They straightway left the net, 325 

And gladly followed him. Then next he met, 

When he had walked a little further on, 

Two other stalwart brothers, James and John, 

The "Sons of Thunder." They were in the ship 

Whose crescent sides in azure waters dip. 330 

Them, too, he called ; and leaving sire and crew, 

They followed him, the Teacher of the True. 

And these four brothers then with Jesus came Mk. i. 29-31 

To Simon's house. Now, there a worthy dame, 

Simon's wife's mother, bedrid lay; and she, 335 

Burning with fever, raved deliriously. 

They spoke of her to Jesus. To her side 

He came at once, and skilfully applied 

His healing virtue ; and his power was such 

That she rose up directly at his touch, 340 

Cured of her fever and delirium : 

And welcoming these callers who had come, 

The grateful woman spread a rich repast 

And served the brothers as they broke their fast. 

As they reclined at table, sadly came Lk. vii. 37-47 

Their fallen sister ; Mary was her name. 346 

Once she had walked the fairest among them 

Whom nature decks with Beauty's diadem, 

Queenly to rule the hearts of men — unless 

They lose the lure of maiden loveliness; 350 

And then, a temple-girl, she had been thrust 

Upon the altar raised to ruddy Lust 



162 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

By priests who through the ages profit find 

In pandering to the passions of mankind — 

The priests who still of love and virtue prate 355 

While kindling fires of bigotry and hate. 

Now, Mary, having heard how on that day 

Jesus at Simon's house had happed to stay, 

Came softly in, as if her tread might soil 

That virtuous house. A cruse of scented oil 360 

She brought, and with her eyes averted crept 

To Jesus' feet, and kissing them she wept, 

Her crystal tears like gently falling rain 

Washing from them the dust and travel-stain; 

And having dried them with her silken hair, 365 

She then anointed them with soothing care. 

Then Simon, slyly shielding lips with hand, 

Whispered to Jesus : "You should understand, 

Being a Seer, w T hat we have left untold, 

Because it shamed us : Mary, uncontrolled 370 

By reason or by maiden modesty, 

Has now become a temple-girl, and we 

Have closed our doors to her." But loud and clear 

Rang out the voice of Jesus : "Simon, hear; 

For I have something I would say to you." 375 

Said Simon crossly : "Then without ado, 

Teacher, say on." Said he : "In days agone 

A lender had two debtors, and anon 

Demanded payment : from the one, he showed, 

Five hundred drachms were due ; the other owed 380 

But fifty drachms. Now, having found that they 

Lacked utterly the means wherewith to pay, 

He, out of pity for those luckless men, 

Cancelled the debts of both. Which debtor, then, 

Should love him most ?" Said he : " 'T would be, indeed, 385 

He who of mercy felt the greater need." 

Said Jesus : "You, so righteous, have judged well !" 

And as his gaze compassionately fell 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 163 

On hapless Mary, Simon he arraigned : 

"You see our sister here, with cheeks tear-stained ? 390 

I came into your house, and me you gave 

No water for my feet ; but she did lave 

With dewy tears my feet, and them has dried 

With those long locks by which is glorified 

Yon bended head. You kissed me not ; but she 395 

Keeps kissing my poor feet unceasingly ! 

You poured no oil on them ; but she with sweet 

And precious oil anointed well my feet. 

I say to you, The Judge in heaven above 

Weighs less her sins than her great wealth of love." 400 

Again he walked the sea-shore, seeing there Mk. ii. 13, 14 

His own twin-brother, seated in a chair 

Among a group of friends. This brother's name 

Was Judas; being of herculean frame 

And skilled in all the games that gymnasts ply, 405 

"The Athlete" he was called, and few could vie 

With him in games, so fleet was he of limb 

And strong of arm. When Jesus came to him 

With sun-bright face along the shining beach, 

Calling to him, "Come, brother, let us teach 410 

The saving truths," he left all lesser things, Lk. v. 28 

And went to him as if his feet had wings. 

At even, when the sun departing blessed Mk. i. 32-35 

The world with healing breath from out the west, 

To Jesus men would bring the sufferers, those 415 

Afflicted with diseases, or whose woes 

Were caused by evil spirits : at his door 

The city's throng besought him to restore 

To health these pain-racked people ; and he healed 

All them whose fate had not been erstwhile sealed 420 

By Heaven's decree, and always drove away 

The ghostly vampires from their human prey, 

Silencing those foul spirits that would fain 

Reveal dark mysteries of Death's domain. 



164 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

And towards the morn, when in the waiting east 425 

The Herald-star foreran the Golden-fleeced, 

Jesus would rise and quietly depart 

Into the solitude ; and there his heart 

With surgent solar forces would be stirred 

As he with viewless Presences conferred. 430 

Now, he one day was teaching ; and around Lk. v. 1 7 

Were grouped his hearers, men whose minds were bound 

By gyves of creeds and by the ponderous chains 

Of formal learning — men whose spacious brains 

Were richly stored with knowledge, but in whom 435 

No torch of intuition lit the gloom, 

And who, though wisdom's light before them blazed, 

Perceived but shadows wheresoe'er they gazed. 

From all four shires these men had gathered there, 

And from the central city, when aware Mk. ii. 2-5 

That he was in his house ; for now his fame 441 

Was spread abroad, and very many came 

To hear him teach, and others to implore 

That he would heal them. Even at the door 

Was now no room for others, such the throng 445 

About him. Four devoted men and strong 

Came bearing on a litter unto him 

A sick man paralyzed in every limb ; 

And finding that the crowd kept them aloof 

From Jesus, they ascended to the roof, 450 

Through which they made an opening o'er the spot 

Where Jesus was, and then let down the cot 

Whereon the sick man lay. Approving then 

The shrewd device of these resourceful men, 

And moved with pity for the palsied one, 455 

Jesus said cheeringly to him : "My son, 

Your sins have been atoned for." When they heard, Lk. v. 21-25 

The pious bigots in their hearts demurred, 

Asking with voiceless anger : "Who is he, 

That he should thus usurp divinity? 460 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 165 

Who but the God whose ear the priesthood wins 

Can make man righteous and forgive his sins?" 

But Jesus, knowing well their covert thought, 

Answered them: " Wherefore are you so distraught? 

I ask you, Is it easier to say, 465 

'Your sins have been by suffering washed away/ 

Than 't is to say, 'Arise and walk' ? Learn now 

That the Celestial Man, though in the slough 

Of earthly life foot-fast, the power controls 

To heal men's bodies and to cleanse their souls." 470 

And turning to the palsied man he said : 

"Arise, take up that thing on which was spread 

Your wasted limbs, now muscular and strong, 

And hasten to the house where you belong." 

At once the man sprang lightly to his feet 475 

Before them, and with thanks to Jesus meet, 

Took up his cot, to him a petty load, 

And went rejoicing to his own abode. 

For Jesus and his hearers Judas made Lk. v. 29-32 

A banquet at his house. At tables laid 480 

With richest viands and with sparkling wine 

He bade his motley throng of guests recline. 

The learned men and bigots, mortified 

At finding lowly persons at their side, 

Murmured to the disciples : "Why do you 485 

Banquet with this uncouth plebeian crew 

Of higglers and poor tramps?" Then Jesus said 

In answer : "Judas well his feast has spread 

Alike for lowly men and men of wealth. 

I say to you, The sick, not those in health, 490 

Have need of a physician. And I thus 

Exhort the erring, not the virtuous, 

To mend their morals and to seek the Truth, 

In want of which ye wiselings are uncouth. 

For thus the Self incarnate in mankind 495 

Would save the ruined, and the lost would find. 



166 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

What man, think ye, if he should have, this day, Matt, xviii. 12, 13 

A hundred sheep, and one should go astray, 

Would not the ninety-nine fold-sheltered keep, 

And go and scour the hills for that lost sheep? 500 

And if he finds it, do ye not opine 

It glads him more than do the ninety-nine 

That strayed not ? Or what woman who possessed Lk. xv. 8, 9 

Ten silver coins would not be sore distressed 

If she should lose one; and would she not take 505 

A lighted lamp and diligently make 

Close search in all dark crannies, peering round 

Until that missing silver coin was found ? 

And when 't is found, she hastens, woman-wise, 

Her friends and neighbors proudly to apprise 510 

Of her good fortune, saying, With me join 

In gladness, for I Ve found my missing coin/ 

Hear now an allegory. Thus it runs : Lk. xv. 1 1-32 

There was of old a man who had two sons ; 

And one, the younger, stirred by deep unrest, 515 

Went to his father and made this request : 

'I pray you, Father, unto me assign 

That portion of the substance that is mine/ 

And so the father portioned each the share 

That he would have, considered as an heir 520 

To the estate. The younger son then took 

His own belongings, and the home forsook, 

Going away to a far-distant land, 

Where he, improvident, with lavish hand 

Wasted his substance in a life of shame. 525 

When he had spent his all, grim famine came 

Upon that land, and then the wastrel felt 

The pinch of poverty. He went and dwelt 

With one he knew, who gave him work indign, 

Sending him to his fields to feed the swine. 530 

So starved was he that oft he longed to fill 

His belly with the husks the sw T ine ate ; still 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 167 

No one took pity on him, offering 

The food he needed- Feeling thus the sting 

Of cruel hunger, and the spur of need, 535 

He grew repentant, being forced to heed 

The promptings of his better self; he longed 

To see again the father he had wronged, 

And live with him within the sheltering home 

He had deserted when impelled to roam. 540 

'How many of my father's slaves,' he said, 

'Are housed in comfort and are given bread 

More than enough, while I am starving here ! 

I will arise, and penitent, sincere, 

Shall go unto my father and shall say, 545 

My father, I have sinned in woful way 

Against the Gods and thee ; and now, undone, 

Am no more worthy to be called thy son. 

Thy love I forfeited; my only plea 

Is now to be a wage-slave serving thee.' 550 

And so the wayward wanderer returned ; 

And when the father from afar discerned 

Him drifting homeward, a poor human wreck, 

He ran to him, and falling on his neck, 

Lovingly kissed him. But the son said : 'Nay; 555 

Unworthy to be called thy son, I pray 

To be thy wage-slave. I, in wretched plight, 

Have sinned against the Gods and in thy sight.' 

But said the father to the servants : 'Bring 

The richest robe, and put a signet-ring 560 

Upon his finger ; bathe his weary feet, 

Anointing them with oil perfumed and sweet, 

And give him sandals. Kill the fatted calf, 

An offering to the Gods in his behalf, 

And in our house let festal joys be rife : 565 

For this, my son, long dead, is come to life, 

Long lost, is found/ Then was the feast begun. 

From toiling in the field, the older son 



168 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Was coming to the house ; when he drew near 

Music and sounds of dancing reached his ear. 570 

Calling to him a servant, he inquired 

What glad event this festival inspired. 

'Your brother has returned/ the servant said; 

'Your sire has killed the fatted calf and spread 

A banquet for the household, and they all 575 

Are joyous with him in the festal hall : 

For safe and sound his son he has regained.' 

The older son grew wrathful, and remained 

Sulking without ; and then his father went 

To him, entreating him ; but, insolent, 580 

Addressing his fond father with cold sneers, 

He said to him : 'Lo, I these many years 

Have served you, toiling like your meanest slave, 

And heeding every order that you gave ; 

And yet you never gave me e'en a kid, 585 

That I might feast, my worthy friends amid. 

But when this son of yours, who has devoured 

Your living with vile prostitutes, has cowered 

Before your feet, you have in his behalf 

Thank-offering made and killed the fatted calf!' 590 

Said then to him the father : 'You have stayed 

Always with me, my son, and have obeyed 

All my commands ; and all things I possess 

Are also yours. But should we not express 

With feast and merrymaking our great joy 595 

Because your brother, my beloved boy, 

Long lost, should thus the homeward pathway tread, 

Coming like one arisen from the dead?' " 

And Jesus, having thus in words obscure 

Told how the human soul becomes mature 600 

Through age-long grief and pain, and then returns 

To that supernal home for which it yearns, 

Paused for a while, and then went on to say : 

"But in what likeness shall I now portray Matt. xi. 16-19 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 169 

The souls that have forgotten whence they came, 605 

And live on earth with no exalted aim, 

Mistaking for the True the pantomime 

Of shifting shadows on the screen of Time? 

They are like children, who with mimic art 

Call to each other, playing in the mart : 610 

'For you the flute we merrily played, 

But you did n't dance with twinkling feet ; 

And when a mournful dirge we made, 
Your breast you did n't wildly beat.' 
For when the Lesser Teacher, pure, divine, 615 

Comes neither eating flesh nor drinking wine, 
They say, 'His eccentricities attest 
That by some evil spirit he 's possessed.' 
And when the Great Hierophant appears, 

Eating and drinking, and himself endears 620 

Unto the lowly seeking Wisdom's way, 
They look at him askance, and sneering say, 
'Hear how this glutton and wine-bibber raves, 
As he consorts with vagabonds and knaves !' 

And Learning is, her worshippers aver, Lk. vii. 35 

A truthful Goddess who can never err!" 626 

But they retorted : "The disciples classed Lk. v. 33, 34 

Under the Lesser Teacher often fast, 
As also do the followers of the priests ; 

But yours indulge in drinking at your feasts." 630 

Said Jesus unto them : "Can you persuade 
The bridegroom's friends to fast when he has made 
For them a banquet, and with him they all 
Recline at table in the festal hall?" 

Two other parables to them he spoke : Lk. v. 36-39 

"No prudent person mends a torn old cloak 636 

With new, uncarded cloth, e'en though they match 
In all but age, because the stiff new patch, 
Added to hide the rent it is sewn o'er, 
Tears off and makes a worse rent than before; 640 



170 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Then, too, a patch so made too clearly shows 

In brighter color on old faded clothes. 

Nor does one put new wine in worn old skins ; 

For if he does, the wine, when it begins 

To effervesce, will burst the skins thus filled, 645 

And they are ruined, and the wine is spilled. 

They put new wine in wine-skins newly made, 

Preserving both. No man whose mind is swayed 

By old wine cares for new : 'Because,' he states, 

'The old wine, not the new, exhilarates.' " 650 

Thus he was telling them, the orthodox, Matt. ix. 18 

How Time the great destroyer, ever mocks 

Them who with new-wove dogmas try to mend 

Their ragged cults when bareness may impend, 

And them who strive, when driven by their needs, 655 

To put new life in their decaying creeds; 

And e'en as he was speaking of the fine 

Exhilaration of the mystic wine, 

The sacred wisdom of the Seers of old — 

To him came the king-archon, who controlled 660 

All exoteric worship. Bowing low, Mk. v. 23 

He begged that Jesus speedily would go 

With him to his abode. "Good sir," he said, 

"My little daughter seemingly is dead : 

She lies in moveless trance, as 't were the sleep 665 

That knows no waking. While we vainly weep 

She wastes away ; for in her soul's eclipse 

Nor food nor drink has passed her pallid lips. 

Therefore to her come quickly, I implore, 

And her with healing touch to life restore." 670 

This little daughter who in deathlike trance Lk. viii. 42 

Was wasting for the want of sustenance 

Was only twelve years old. With Jesus went Mk. v. 24-28 

His five disciples, and a crowd intent 

On witnessing what magic he might do 675 

The dying maiden's life-breath to renew, 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 171 

And in their eagerness they rudely pressed 

About him, jostling him. Among the rest 

A certain woman came, who had sustained 

Twelve years a flux of blood that slowly drained 680 

Her vital force from her, and had, uncured, 

Of many doctors many things endured, 

Spending her all, until with empty purse, 

She found that these had only made her worse. 

But having heard of Jesus through his fame, 685 

Behind him in the crowd she softly came Lk. viii. 44 

And touched his mantle's hem ; for thus she thought : Mk. v. 28-40 

"Even his outer garments must be fraught 

With magic virtue : I '11 be healed by them 

If I but place my finger on the hem." 690 

And at the touch the issue of her blood 

Was stanched, and then she felt a healing flood 

Her strength renewing. Jesus turned about, 

Knowing a magic virtue was drawn out 

From him, and asked of those around him, "Who 695 

Now touched my garments?" Saving her, none knew; 

And his disciples laughingly replied : 

"You see them jostling you on every side, 

Yet ask, 'Who touched me ?' ' But his vision swept 

The gaping crowd, and forth the woman crept, 700 

Trembling and awed at being thus made well, 

And telling him the truth, before him fell. 

"Daughter," said he, "your faith has made surcease 

Of your infirmity. Go now in peace." 

While yet he spoke, came messengers who said 705 

To the king-archon : "Sir, your child is dead; 

For you the mourners at your house now wait, 

But why the Healer bring, when 't is too late ?" 

But Jesus said to him assuringly : 

"Have courage, and retain your faith in me." 710 

And then he bade the curious crowd begone, 

Permitting only Judas, James and John 



172 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

To go along with him. When they had come 

Unto the house, they found an uproar : some 

Among the household mourned with streaming eyes 715 

And choking sobs; and some with doleful cries 

Proclaimed their grief, and wildly beat the breast. 

But Jesus, entering the house, addressed 

These words to them : "Why do you wail and weep, 

Making an uproar ? 'T is not Death, but Sleep, 720 

Has stilled the soul within her form of clay: 

The child but slumbers." But so sure were they Lk. viii. 53—55 

That she was dead that they were only stirred 

To mirthless laughter when his words they heard. 

But Jesus took her by the hand and cried : 725 

"Maiden, awake !" With his command complied 

Her soul, returning from the land where dwell 

Dream-people, who in meads of asphodel 

Blissfully wander. Then the maid arose, 

Wide-eyed and wondering, from her strange repose ; 730 

And Jesus, pointing out her lassitude, 

Ordered that quickly they should give her food. 

One of those days of yet unripened fruit, Lk. viii. 22, 23 

When Jesus was a wandering Therapeut — 

One who along the highways humbly plods, 735 

Teaching and healing, so to serve the Gods — 

It chanced one eve, he walked beside the sea, 

And he and his disciples joyously 

Entered the ship, and unto them he cried : 

"Let us pass over to the other side." 740 

So they put out to sea ; and as they sailed 

He fell asleep. A sudden storm prevailed ; 

And o'er the sturdy ship, now plunging, dashed 

The foaming waves by winds to fury lashed, 

Until it seemed the struggling ship anon 745 

Would surely founder. Jesus still slept on, 

Recumbent at the tiller, with his head 

Resting upon the cushion which was spread 






THE CROWNING OF JESUS 173 

For him as steersman. For no storm or strife 

Of elements disturbs the inner life 750 

Of him whose soul has reached the sacred peace 

And seeks to gain the mystic golden fleece — 

The wondrous vesture woven of the flame 

The sun outbreathes. But his disciples came, 

Awaking him, and said : "O Captain, save 755 

Yourself and us from Ocean's yawning grave." 

Then Jesus, rising up, rebuked the wind— 

Storm-stirring Boreas— and disciplined 

The Ocean-God, Poseidon, saying thus : 

"Be quiet, thou, of Gods most boisterous! 760 

The Storm-wind in his prison-cave confine, 

And draw the reins on those wild steeds of thine." 

Then Wind and Ocean-God subdued their spleen ; 

And raging storm gave way to calm serene. 

But from her cordage, now like harp-strings tense, 765 

The ship sent forth, what all could faintly sense, 

Celestial music, an geolian tone ; 

While o'er the two strong Sons of Thunder shone 

Two brilliant lights, as if two infant stars 

Had perched, like birds, above them on the spars. 770 

Now, having thus the tempest's wrath survived, Mk. v. 1, 2 

They at the sea's remotest shore arrived, 

Unto a country where a chasm profound 

Gapes like a sword-cut in the wounded ground : 

'T was here the earth was rudely torn apart 775 

When plundering Plouton, clasping to his heart 

Persephone, whom he would make his queen, 

Fled down with her the Earth's rock-ribs between, 

To reach his gloomy realm. Here Jesus left 

The ship awhile, to view the mighty cleft; 780 

And he was met by one, a denizen Lk. viii. 27 

Of that weird country, who the haunts of men 

Had long abandoned, and among the tombs 

Was dwelling, nude and filthy, crazed by fumes 



i 74 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

That from the chasm ascended, and possessed 785 

By grewsome spirits who his soul distressed. 

And now so fierce was he that none could bind Mk. v. 3-5 

His brawny limbs or soothe his maddened mind : 

When chains and fetters on his limbs they put, 

He burst his bonds and freed both hand and foot. 790 

He prowled among the tombs and roamed the hills, 

Crying aloud, and adding to his ills 

By gashing his own flesh with jagged stones ; 

And e'en in sleep he breathed with sobs and moans. 

Now catching sight of Jesus, this poor man, Lk. viii. 28, 30, 31 

Screaming insanely, to the Healer ran, 796 

And at his feet fell down. Then Jesus asked : 

"What is your name?" But many ghosts were masked 

By that one hapless human form, and they, 

Using its lips, replied : "What boots it, pray, Matt. viii. 29 

That you should know our names ? We are a crowd, 801 

And many are our names. Are you allowed 

By him whose power o'er Erebos extends 

Hither to come, and ere his season ends 

Imprison us ? Nay ; do not drive us back 805 

To Erebos through that earth-riven crack 

By which awhile ago we took our flight 

To find a home in this unguarded wight." 

Now, on the hills a herd of many swine Lk. viii. 32-37 

Were grazing greedily. The ghosts malign, 810 

Knowing that Jesus from their human den 

Would now expel them, him entreated then 

That he would let them take the swine instead 

For habitations ; and they gladly sped, 

When he had given permission, to exchange 815 

Their human ghost-hotel for homes more strange, 

Thinking their lust for life they still might glut 

While dwelling in those porcine bodies ; but 

The decent swine, refusing in disgust 

To house those filthy ghosts of human lust, 820 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 175 

Rushed down the shore that to the water shelves, 

And in the cleanly ocean drowned themselves. 

Now when the swineherds saw the grievous fate 

That had befallen their herd, they went, irate 

At having lost their swine, and spread the news 825 

Throughout the city and its wide purlieus, 

Thus saying to the spirit-worshippers, 

Of whom were many there : "Our swine, good sirs, 

Would not have perished had he let alone 

Your spirits, which to Hades now have flown." 830 

Then all the worshippers of spirits ran 

To Jesus, at whose feet the grateful man, 

Now clothed and sane, was sitting. All were stirred 

By wrath and fear ; and with but one curt word 

They bade him leave their land without delay; Mk. v. 17 

So, entering the ship, he sailed away. 836 

II 

Jesus ascended now the sacred Mount Mk. iii. 13, 14 

Whose twelve encircling peaks on earth recount 

The twelve great starry stations which in heaven 

Are traversed by the Sun and planets seven ; 840 

And having taken there the central throne, 

He called his twelve disciples. To the zone 

Of lesser thrones around him they all came 

And took their several seats, each one by name 

Responding. And he likened James and John, Mk. iii. 16-19 

Of those companions he relied upon, 846 

To forked lightnings of the shining cloud, 

Simon and Andrew to the thunders loud, 

And Judas to the thunderbolt that smites 

Him whom the Sire exalts to heavenly heights ; 850 

While Mary and six other sisters there, 

Forming a semicircle bright and fair, 



176 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

He likened to the seven divers tints 

Which Iris on the pale blue sky imprints. 

Then Simon said to him : "To follow you Matt. xix. 27-29 

We have renounced the world. Now what is due 856 

To us as our reward ?" And he replied : 

"Companions, ye whom I have sanctified, 

When I am born anew, and take my throne 

To rule the Realm, all ye, who now have shown 860 

Your faith in me, in my exalted hour 

Shall sit upon twelve thrones, with sceptred power 

Over the twelve great houses wherein all 

The hosts of heaven reside, both great and small. 

Whoever may renounce his house on earth— 865 

The mortal form his soul received at birth— 

And all false riches in this world of death, 

To seek rebirth in the most holy Breath, Lk. xviii. 30 

The great World-Mother, shall when born anew 

Receive a house etern and riches true ; 870 

He in the Realm's most stately edifice, 

The palace of the King, shall dwell in bliss. 

A quenchless light the Self has placed in man, Matt. v. 14 

That by its magic radiance he might scan 

All things whate'er, apparent or arcane, 875 

The inner and the outer worlds contain, 

Thus with the faultless vision of the Seer 

Piercing the heights and depths, the far and near. 

The Self bestowed this light, but ne'er designed 

That man should mask it in his murky mind, 880 

As one might hide a brightly burning lamp Lk. xi. 33, 34 

Under a tub or in a cellar damp ! 

Nay ; on the lampstand placed, and duly trimmed, 

The lamp should glad the house with light undimmed. 

This sacred lamp in man the Mystics call 885 

The 'single eye' ; and when it may befall 

That it is open, the supernal light 

Bathes all his inner being, and his sight 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 177 

Reaches beyond the bounds of time and space ; 

But in the man whom blinding sins debase 890 

The holy light is hid, the eye ne'er opes, 

And he in mental darkness blindly gropes. 

If ye were thus benighted, how, forsooth, 

Could ye have walked with me the way of Truth? 

But there is nothing latent or suppressed Lk. viii. 17, 18 

That shall not, in due time, be manifest; 896 

That which to-day seems hopelessly obscure 

Will yield, to-morrow, meanings clear and sure. 

Therefore take heed, when mysteries ye learn, 

To measure broadly all you may discern ; 900 

For by the rule you use, the Gods anew 

Will measure out the sacred truths to you ; 

And ye with open minds shall thereby gain 

The truths that in the deathless soul remain 

From life to life. For death but clarifies 905 

And widens more the wisdom of the wise ; 

But when false learning only man has known, 

Death strips him of the wealth he deems his own." 

Thus having said, he consecrated then Lk. x. 1 

Other disciples : thirty-six were men, 910 

And thirty-six were women. Round the twelve 

They stood upon the mountain-sides that shelve 

From summit down to earth— like stars on high 

In clusters shining in the vaulted sky. 

He likened them, the seventy and two, Lk. vi. 13 

To Hermes, swiftly bearing tidings true, 916 

And Aphrodite, risen from the foam 

Of the sethereal sea, to seek a home 

Within the hearts of men ; and them he sent, Lk. x. 1, 2 

As they were wedded couples, eloquent 920 

With words of love, to go before his face, 

Now shining sun-like, unto every place 

And city where he meant to show the might 

And glory of his presence. Thus at night 



178 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

The silvery stars precede in wide array 925 

The golden splendor of the Lord of Day. 

And ere he sent them forth he thus addressed 

His messengers of love with high behest : 

"The summer now advances, and the yield 

Of yellow grain is great; but in the field 930 

The reapers are but few : so seek ye more 

Throughout the land, and as ye go implore 

The Goddess of the Harvest to inspire 

With willingness the workers ye would hire. 

And on your journey go but lightly clad, Mk. vi. 8, 9 

Hasting along the road as if you had 936 

Wings on your sandals and had also donned 

The winged hat. Your fascinating wand 

Take with you, also your persuasive purse ; 

And tarry not with idlers to converse, Lk. x. 4-1 1 

But bear in mind that you are sent to look 941 

For workers who will wield the reaping-hook. 

The first house you may enter, say to all, 

Teace to this house !' And if an answering call 

Of welcome comes from one whom Peace has blessed, 945 

Then on that worthy house your peace will rest ; 

But if it meet with no response of love, 

Your peace will softly, like a homing dove, 

Return to you. Where you are welcomed, stay, 

And from your well-filled purse your host repay : 950 

Go not from house to house like overfed 

Priest-beggars whining thanks o'er wheedled bread. 

In any city where the men are quick 

To do you honor, soothe and heal their sick, 

Using your golden wand with serpents twined; 955 

And say to all, 'The King who seeks to find 

His Starry Realm is coming now to you.' 

But when in any city men pursue 

The ways of unbelief and worldly phlegm, 

Walk proudly through its streets and say to them : 960 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 179 

'Ye who have closed your doors in mean distrust 

Against us, breathe ye now the choking dust 

That in your streets our winged feet have stirred ! 

Yet know ye, we were sent to bring you word 

That soon the King whose tidings we convey, 965 

Seeking his Starry Realm, shall pass this way.' 

Go now, my messengers, and ever keep 

All my commands. Behold, like harmless sheep Matt. x. 16 

I send you forth the ravening wolves among ; 

So be as crafty and adroit of tongue 970 

As Hermes' sacred serpents, and yet be 

As Aphrodite's doves from venom free." 

The messengers of Love and Thought withdrew, Lk. ix. 6 

And went to do his bidding, passing through 

The cities, telling that the King approached, 975 

Seeking his Realm ; and ever as they broached 

The need of reapers in the sacred field, 

The weak they strengthened, and the sick they healed. 

But Jesus and his twelve companions stayed ; Mk. vi. 30-34 

And next they clubbed together and purveyed 980 

Provisions for a picnic. "Let us go," 

Said he, "to some secluded spot, and know 

How freedom for a while from grave pursuits 

The mind refreshes, and the strength recruits. " 

So joyously aboard the ship they got 985 

And sailed away to a sequestered spot, 

To have an outing from the crowds apart ; 

But when the crowd saw them take ship and start 

They followed them afoot with rapid pace 

Along the shore, and at the picnic place 990 

Pressed round the gracious Teacher. Jesus felt 

His very heart with tender pity melt 

To see how few of life's fair things belong 

To common folks, who by the rich and strong 

Are plundered and downtrodden, e'en as sheep 995 

Are scattered and destroyed when on them leap 



180 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

The wolves, fleet-footed and with cruel jaws, 

Who prowl in packs to fill their hungry maws ; 

And so he welcomed there the crowds that pressed 

About him even on his day of rest, iooo 

And them the noble truths he freely taught 

That holy Seers from Heaven to Earth have brought. 

But when the sun low to the west had sped Lk. ix. 12 

The twelve companions came to him and said : 

"Dismiss the crowds, that they may go away 1005 

To villages or places where they may 

In the surrounding country purchase food ; 

For there is none in this wild solitude." 

He said to them : "Nay; these are guests of mine, Matt. xiv. 16 

And ere they go 't is fit that they should dine." 10 10 

But they replied : "Two fishes and five loaves Lk. ix. 13-17 

Are all we have. Your 'guests' have come in droves, 

Forty-nine hundred, whom we did not call ; 

And yet you say that we should feed them all." 

But Jesus said to them: "Make forty-nine 1015 

Mess-parties of them, having them recline 

In easy posture on the soft green sward." 

And so arranged, e'en as the sky is starred 

With constellations ruled by sacred powers, 

He likened them to garden beds of flowers ; Mk. vi. 39 

For they were somewhat gaudily arrayed 1021 

In colored garments rich with every shade. 

Then Jesus took the loaves and fishes— seven 

Portions of food— and while the vault of heaven 

He circled with his gaze, contemplative, 1025 

Praying the seven Planet-Gods to give 

Their power of increase, he broke up the food 

In many fragments for the multitude, 

And gave them to the twelve to serve the rest. 

They ate, and had their fill. When every guest 1030 

Had finished, each companion heaping filled 

His basket from the morsels that were spilled : 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 181 

Thus twelve big basketfuls in all they gained 

By gathering up the fragments that remained. 

And now the messengers he had despatched, Lk. x. 17-20 

The seventy-two in lovely couples matched, 1036 

Returned rejoicing, their report to bring, 

Thus saying : "In your name, O gracious King, 

All honored us, and e'en the Demigods 

Obeyed us when they saw our serpent-rods." 1040 

He said to them : "I, gazing o'er the world, 

Beheld our foe, the Evil Genius, hurled 

From heaven, writhing 'neath the fiery lash 

Swung from on high, the lightning's jagged flash; 

And with him all the hateful brood who own I045 

Through him their power were from high heaven thrown. 

And now he roams the earth ; but unto you 

I give the power whereby you can subdue 

That Evil Genius, and receive no harm : 

For w T ith your wand's mysterious light you charm 1050 

The duteous Demigods, and with its fire 

Destroy the stinging scorpions of desire. 

But natheless rejoice not that from choice 

The Demigods obey you ; but rejoice 

That as the powers which you personify 10 SS 

Your names are written in the pictured sky." 

Of all the men of learning one alone Matt. viii. 19—22 

To Jesus came and his desire made known 

To learn the sacred science ; and said he : 

"Teacher, where'er thou goest I '11 follow thee." 1060 

But Jesus spoke to him these warning words : 

"The foxes dwell in holes, and e'en the birds 

That swiftly wing the air abide in nests ; 

But nowhere on this earth his head he rests 

Who calmly studies through unnumbered years 1065 

The sacred science of the self-born Seers : 

For he no home or place of rest can find 

Save in the Realm of the Eternal Mind." 



182 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Said one who longed his teaching to receive : 

"Teacher, I '11 follow thee; but give me leave 1070 

To bury now my father." Jesus said : 

"Come thou with me, and let the living-dead 

Bury their dead." Another also tried Lk. ix. 61, 62 

To gain delay, and said : "Awhile abide, 

Teacher, for me, till I have bid farewell 1075 

To all the folks who at my homestead dwell." 

But Jesus said to him : "Why tarry now ? 

No man who grasps the handles of the plow, 

But fondly keeps his face turned back to see 

The folks behind him, can keep pace with me: 1080 

None whom the petty cares of life o'erwhelm 

Is qualified to gain the Starry Realm. 

Whoever comes to me, yet loves me less Lk. xiv. 26 

Than mortal kindred who his home may bless, 

Or even than his soul — the dual mean 1085 

His mortal and immortal selves between — 

Can not be my disciple. For, indeed, Matt. x. 34-39 

The Self comes not on earth to sow the seed 

Of poppied lethargy which men call peace 

When from the soul's ennobling toil they cease: 1090 

Nay; when he comes he sows the seed of strife, 

The struggle to achieve immortal life. 

The Self Divine must sever that which dies 

From that which dies not. E'en the loving ties 

Of family, of souls conjoined by birth, 1095 

Restrain the soul and bind it to the earth. 

And he who loves his parents and the rest 

More than he loves the Self has thus confessed 

That he is yet too puny to begin 

My high discipleship and discipline: 1 100 

Yea ; he has yet to learn that all who live 

Are but a family superlative. 

Whoso my true disciple wills to be, Lk. ix. 23, 24 

Let him renounce, at once and finally, 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 183 

The fancied self of him, that fondly clings 1105 

To animal existence and the things 

Which to the Self Eternal are but dross, 

And let him patiently sustain his cross — 

The feeble human form of moulded clay — 

And follow me upon the shining way. 1 1 10 

He, selfish, who his soul would find and save, 

Shall lose it in the gloom beyond the grave ; 

But he, forgetting self, who seeks to bless 

All beings, and in lofty carelessness 

Loses his soul among the whole mankind, 1 1 1 5 

In the Eternal Light his soul shall find. 

Consider well your strength, not once, but thrice, Lk. xiv. 28-34 

Ere you essay the final sacrifice. 

For which of you, if he had fully willed 

A splendid castle for himself to build, 1 120 

Would not first estimate the cost, and count 

His gold, to know he had the full amount 

For its completion? Else when he had laid 

A fine foundation, he should then be stayed 

For lack of funds, and all beholding it 1125 

Should laugh at that foundation, and should twit 

Its fatuous builder, saying : 'He began 

To build his castle ; but, poor foolish man, 

He could not finish it, and now he owns 

Nothing on earth but those foundation-stones.' H30 

Again, what king, should threatening war-clouds lower 

Over his realm and some adjoining power, 

Would not take counsel with his generals first, 

To estimate his strength, before he durst 

Engage in war when he could only bring IX 35 

Ten thousand men against the other king, 

Who marched with twenty thousand? If he lack 

The force to meet the enemy's attack, 

He sends, before his peril may increase, 

An embassy to sue for terms of peace. 1140 



184 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Now, he who will not count the cost, and make 

The great renunciation for my sake, 

Relinquishing all worldly ties, and all 

The mental joys that may his soul enthrall, 

Can not be my disciple. Many prize 1145 

False learning, built of thoughts that crystallize 

To forms inert, until the soul is killed — ^ 

Crushed 'neath the stones wherewith the mind is filled. 

No man, unless his inner eye is blind, 

With thought-concretions burdens thus his mind. 1 1 50 

Even the lighter lore that men call wit 

Grows stale ; for though they truly liken it 

To spice, and spice is good, yet if it may 

Its flavor lose, the spice is thrown away. Matt. v. 13 

No man can serve, whose rectitude is strict, Matt. vi. 24, 25 

Two masters when their interests conflict; 11 56 

For if he serves the one with loyalty 

He wrongs the other to the same degree. 

You can not, even for your selfish use, 

Serve both the Heavenly and the Stygian Zeus : 1 1 60 

One rules above, the other rules below ; 

If Zeus you serve, grim Plouton lets you go. 

Seek not his shadowy realm, nor cultivate 

The psychic powers of which pretenders prate, 

Who think the rules of diet they contrive 1 165 

Will somehow make the lunar body thrive : 

Such powers all fail, and in the world of shades 

The psychic form of every mortal fades. 

It is enough if you obey with care Lk. xii. 23 

The laws of health, and eat what simple fare 11 70 

The body needs ; then let your soul be fed 

At banquets which the gracious Gods have spread. 

And care not if your body be not dressed 

In pleasing raiment. For what boots the rest, 

If you are sound in health and pure of soul? 1175 

Can you, by focussed force of thought control Matt. vi. 2j 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 185 

That little vibrant centre in your brain 

From which all organs in your body gain 

Their vital force, and which compels and guides 

The body's growth, wherein the soul abides ? 1 180 

If not, then why distress your mind to know Lk. xii. 26 

The means to make your psychic body grow ? 

And wherefore let your thoughts on raiment dwell? Matt. vi. 

Consider how, in meadow-land and dell, 28-30, 33 

The lilies grow, and all the flowers of spring: 1185 

They neither spin nor weave, and yet no king, 

With crown and royal robes, was e'er arrayed 

Like one of these. Now, if the Father made 

Such raiment for the wild flowers that to-day 

Breathe beauty, but to-morrow fade away 119c 

'Neath the too ardent glances of the sun, 

Shall he not honor you, and every one 

Attaining his Eternal Realm of Light, 

With robes of glory dazzling to the sight? 

Seek, then, the Realm that evermore endures, 1*95 

And all the powers and glories shall be yours. 

Beware of all pretended seers and shams Matt. vii. 15 

Who come to you in guise of guileless lambs, 

But whose dark souls, which hideous demons sway, 

Are ravening wolves that prowl for human prey. 1200 

And follow not the exoteric priests, Matt. xv. 14 

Who celebrate religious rites and feasts— 

Unmeaning to themselves as to their flocks — 

And teach strange doctrines they call orthodox. 

To their dogmatic teaching give no heed : 1205 

Blind guides are they. And if a blind man lead 

Another blind man, follower and guide 

Into the selfsame pit shall surely slide. 

The man who makes the priest his teacher shows Lk. vi. 40 

How little of the larger life he knows ; 12 10 

And like the priestly model he beholds 

His own too waxen character he moulds. 



186 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Be circumspect, and through the narrow gate Matt. vii. 13, 14 

Enter ye in. Life's pathways separate : 

The one, so very broad and easy, slopes 121 5 

To where the mighty gate of Plouton opes ; 

Thither the many go ; a very few 

In Tartaros forever sink from view ; 

But all the others through the gate of birth 

Rise, purified, to live again on earth. 1220 

The other is a small old path that winds 

Steeply up rocky places ; he who finds 

The lofty summit that it rises to 

Sees there a golden gate, and passing through 

Enters the Starry Realm: thus having found 1225 

His kingdom, he 'mid deathless Gods is crowned. 

Yet few are they who tread that path, and win 

The portal of the Realm and pass within. 

Keep asking, and the Self's most precious gift Lk. xi. 9, 10 

Of Seership shall be yours ; and when you lift 1230 

Your vision to the stars, and search the height, 

The small old path will shine before your sight ; 

And having reached the portal of the King, 

Knock, and the golden gate will open swing. 

Now, every pure disciple who thus asks I2 35 

Unceasingly, and does the twelve great tasks 

That make for mastery of self, receives 

The gift of Seership ; every Seer who leaves 

Life's beaten highway may the path behold, 

And when he knocks, to him the gate of gold 1240 

Opens ; then entering on winged feet 

He with the blest Immortals takes his seat. 

Not every one of those who supplicate Matt. vii. 21, 24 

Can scale the height, and through the golden gate 

Enter the Father's Realm. For not until 1245 

He does on earth the heavenly Father's will 

May man, while wearing yet the garb of clay, 

The glories of the heavenly world survey. 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 187 

Many are they who think they have discerned 

An easier way, and so aside have turned 1250 

From that steep path that daunts the dallying soul, 

Yet claim to follow me, and would cajole 

Me to receive them, falsely saying thus : 

'Teacher, thy potent name has made of us 

True Seers, and we indeed have oft expelled 1255 

The evil spirits, and we have excelled 

In many magic arts, in thy great name.' 

But unto these I say : 'Cease ye to claim 

That you have gained your psychic powers of me, 

Ye dabblers in the arts of sorcery, 1260 

Who make of sacred science a pretence. 

I never knew you, and I bid you hence !' 

Now, every one who may his ear incline 

To hear these plainly worded truths of mine, 

And, understanding, gives to them effect, 1265 

Is like a man who, going to erect Lk. vi. 48 

A dwelling-house, first wielded well the spade, 

Dug deep, and then a firm foundation laid 

Upon the rock, and built upon the same. 

And when the rainfall, flood and tempest came, Matt. vii. 25-27 

And beat upon that house, it stood the shock ; 1271 

Because 't was firmly founded on the rock. 

And every one who hears the words I speak, 

Yet disregards them, and departs to seek 

Instruction of the charlatans who teach I2 75 

That men with little toil the Realm may reach, 

May well be likened to a man who built 

His house upon the yielding sand and silt. 

And when the rainfall, flood and tempest came, 

And beat upon that house, its weakened frame 1280 

Could not the raging elements withstand, 

And so collapsed upon the treacherous sand." 

Jesus one day expelled a meddlesome Lk. xi. 14 

Possessing ghost that made its victim dumb ; 



188 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

And when the man was freed, his tongue he found, 1285 

Whereat the gaping crowd who stood around 

Were filled with wonder. But the outer priests, Matt. xii. 24 

Who herd the many as they would dumb beasts, 

With rancor said: "This Therapeut no doubt Lk. xi. 15, 17 

Employs the power of Plouton to drive out 1290 

The evil spirits." Jesus, knowing well 

How priests thus use the fabled King of Hell 

To keep their followers subdued, replied : 

"Whene'er a king is openly defied, 

And internecine war embroils his realm, I2 95 

His throne is shaken, and disasters whelm 

The land he rules. And every house where all 

The inmates are at strife must surely fall. 

If, then, the grim old King who rules the shades Matt. xii. 25-28 

Now lends his power to mortals, and thus aids 1300 

Those who rebel against him and have scanned 

The world etern, how can his kingdom stand ? 

If I by using Plouton's power expel 

The shades that may in sickly persons dwell, 

What other power do your disciples boast 1305 

Who with fantastic rites cast out a ghost ? 

Let, then, your own barbaric rites be proof 

That heaven brings no power to your behoof. 

But if, indeed, it is the heavenly Air, 

The holy Breath, that aids me when by prayer 13 10 

I purify a man who is possessed 

By some foul shade, and drive away the pest, 

Then surely, though you claim to be so wise, 

The heavenly Power has ta'en you by surprise. 

Now, when a stalwart warrior, who has put ^^ 

His armor on, thus clad from head to foot 

In metal, stands prepared with spear and sword 

To guard his mansion and his hard-won hoard, 

His house is safe, with all his treasured pelf. 

But should another, stronger than himself, 1320 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 189 

Attack and conquer him, the robber binds 

The man, and having stolen all he finds 

Inside the house, strips from that man robust 

The panoply in which he placed his trust. 

Guard well the twelve-doored mansion of the soul 1325 

Against obsessing spirits that control 

The mortals who, from sickliness or sin, 

By ghosts are conquered, or who call them in. 

Who would his house invincibly defend 

When evil spirits may with him contend 1330 

i Must all his forces with the Self unite : 

He with the Self must join, or he must fight 

Against the Self; and he, if not allied 

With the Eternal, scatters far and wide 

The feebly guarded fruitage of his toils; 1335 

For plundering spirits will divide the spoils. 
I And little it avails a man possessed 

When some one else expels the ghostly pest : 

The earth-bound spirit, when he 's driven out, 

Afar in rainless deserts roams about, 1340 

Seeking some place whose burning heat may dry 

The earthly lusts he can not gratify; 

And finding not a region where the heat 

With his own boiling passions can compete, 

He says : 'I will to that same house return 1345 

Whence I was driven out, and there sojourn.' 

And when he comes, he finds it neatly swept 
I And put in order, though no guard is kept 

Upon it, and the door is left ajar ; 

Then going out he gets seven ghosts who are I 35° 

Worse even than himself, and through the door 

They enter in and dwell there. As before 

The man is ghost-possessed, but he is cursed 

With seven spirits now, besides the first." 

Then certain priests and wiselings, raking o'er Matt. xii. 38, 39 

Their scanty stock of astrologic lore. T 356 



190 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Said : "Teacher, tell us, from what stellar sign 

Proceeds the Power which you pronounce divine ?" 

He answered : "He to whom that Power unbars 

The golden gate is ruler of the stars; 1360 

But all the souls who wear upon their necks 

The yoke of bondage to the power of sex, 

And therefore now in Hades, now on earth 

Abide, and through the gates of death and birth 

Pass and repass, in bodies manifold, 1365 

Are held by Fate and by the stars controlled. 

But if you seek the constellation meant 

For men unversed in Truth, but sapient, 

Then lift your eyes and view the vaulted sky ^ 

Where Ketos spreads enormously on high; I 37° 

Largest of all the starry signs is he, 

The mighty monster of the heavenly sea, 

Who symbolizes well the lower mind, 

Which reasons falsely, since to Truth 't is blind." 

When to his native city he returned, Matt. xiii. 54-58 

And his disciples with him, Jesus yearned 1 37^ 

To bring enlightenment to all the folk 

Whom he had known since childhood ; so he spoke 

Wise words to them when he had entered in 

The temple crowded with his kith and kin. 1380 

But they derided him and his discourse, 

And said : "From what mysterious hidden source 

Could he, familiar to us all, have gained 

Wisdom which we ourselves have not attained ? 

Can he indeed in magic arts be versed 1385 

When in our city he was born and nursed ? 

For is he not, in fact, the oldest son 

Of Joseph, master-builder, and of one 

Named Mary, Joseph's wife? And these young men 

Who follow him, our fellow-citizen— !39 

Are not the five his brothers all, whose names 

Are Judas, Simon, Andrew, John and James ? 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 191 

And are not these his seven sisters, known 

To us since they from babyhood have grown ?" 

And so they took offence ; for in their eyes 1395 

None but a stranger could be great and wise, 

Nor could a man be perfect if not dead. 

But Jesus turned to them who scoffed, and said : Mk. vi. 4, 5 

"A Seer is not dishonored to his face 

Save by his friends and in his native place." 1400 

Balked by their incredulity and phlegm, 

Enlightenment he could not bring to them ; 

For wisdom, power and grace no Seer imparts 

To men of mean and unreceptive hearts. 

So from that stifling temple he withdrew, Matt. xiii. 1-3 

And went to breathe the purer air that blew 1406 

Refreshingly along the wave-washed strand. 

There by the sea he rested on the sand ; 

But when a crowd came round him he arose, 

And entering the ship, its prow he chose 1410 

As 't were his chair, and thus began to teach 

The eager throng of listeners on the beach : 

"To what shall we compare the Realm Divine? Mk. iv. 30—32 

Or how with allegoric speech define 

The consciousness in Godhead merged? But nay; 141 5 

By no similitude can we display 

That Starry Realm commensurate with the All. 

Yet small is its beginning, very small : 

'T is like a tiny mustard seed, which shows 

Among the least of seeds, yet quickly grows, Matt. xiii. 32 

When sown in goodly soil, to be a tree, 1421 

Compared with lesser plants, and gracefully 

Waves leafy branches from a sturdy stem, 

And feathered songsters safely perch on them. 

For thus the little seed that germinates Mk. iv. 26, 27 

By its inherent virtue and creates 1426 

A living plant from elemental food 

Affords a natural similitude 



192 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Of man's unfoldment when he has enshrined 

The germ of holy wisdom in his mind : 1430 

It is as if a man, with little toil, 

Should sow good seed in deep and fertile soil, 

And while he greets the days with placid brow, 

The seed springs np and grows, he knows not how. 

'T is thus. Behold the Sower went out to sow ; Matt. xiii. 3-8 

And as he sowed, some of the seeds were showered 1436 

Along the roadside, by a careless throw, 

And these the little twittering birds devoured : 
And other seeds in stony places fell, 

Where soil was scant, and there they sprouted soon, 1440 

And for a little while grew very well ; 

But rain was tardy, and the sun at noon 
Beat warmly down, and all those tender shoots, 

Thus nursed by soil too shallow for their needs, 
Perished because they had but stunted roots : 1445 

And others fell among the prickly weeds 
That rankly grew in an uncared-for ditch, 

And by the weeds were choked and crowded out : 
And others fell upon deep soil and rich, 

Where they grew firm of root and strong of sprout, 1450 

And yielded increase, when the field was tolled, 
Of thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold. 
The Great Hierophant with mystic fan, Matt. xiii. 24-30 

By whom the Realm's deep mysteries are revealed, 
Is likened to a thrifty husbandman 1455 

Who sowed good seed in his well-harrowed field ; 
But while his workers slumbered, came by night 

His enemy, who sowed among the wheat 
The seeds of darnel, wreaking thus his spite, 

And stole away. When summer's humid heat 1460 

Had caused the wheat to grow till, fully eared, 

It promised golden grain and needful bread, 
The worthless darnel also then appeared. 

Then to the husbandman the workers said : 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 193 

'Master, did you not sow good seed and clean? 1465 

Then why does darnel now so thickly show?' 
Said he : 'Some enemy, of spirit mean, 

Has done this thing.' They asked him : 'Shall we go 
And weed the darnel out ?' He answered : 'Nay ; 

Lest you in plucking up the weeds may do I 47° 

Much damage to the wheat ; so let them stay 

Until the harvest, when I '11 say to you, 
First gather up and burn the weeds, before 
The wheat you reap and in the granary store.' 
The Science of the Realm is likened to Matt. xiii. 44 

A buried treasure which a man once found 1476 

When digging in a field. The man withdrew, 

Leaving the treasure hidden in the ground ; 
And joyful o'er his find thus kept concealed, 

He sold all that he had, and bought that field. 1480 

The seeker for the Realm is like, indeed, Matt. xiii. 45 

A merchant seeking over all the earth 
A splendid pearl, all others to exceed ; 

And having found that pearl of wondrous worth, 
He bought it, though he had to sacrifice 1485 

All that he had on earth to pay the price. 
The reminiscence of the Realm extends Matt. xiii. 47, 48, 52 

Throughout the World-soul in the spatial vast, 
And all its hoarded knowledge comprehends : 

'T is like a mighty dragnet which was cast 1490 

Into the sea, and in its meshes thralled 

All kinds of fish that 'neath the surface lurked, 
And which, when it was filled, the fishers hauled 

Upon the beach. Then sitting down they worked 
At sorting out the fish: those good for food *495 

They gathered into baskets ; but the rest, 
The useless ones, upon the sands they strewed. 

Now, every true disciple who is blest 
With intuitions clear, when he revives 

The memories which his eternal Xous 1 S 00 



194 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Recorded in his soul through many lives, 

Is likened to the master of a house 
Who enters in his strong-room to behold 
His many treasures there, both new and old. 
The powers which now the coming Realm await Matt. xxv. 1-12 

Are like ten bridesmaids who were told to bide 1506 

Until the bridegroom — who by hap was late — 

Rejoicingly should come to claim his bride. 
Of those ten maidens, five were scatter-brained, 

And five were provident and used to toil. 1 5 10 

The foolish five, when torches they obtained, 

Neglected to provide themselves with oil 
To make their torches burn with brilliant light ; 

The five, however, who were prudent kept 
Cruets of oil to make their torches bright. 1515 

The maidens, worn by weary waiting, slept ; 
But at the midnight hour a cry arose : 

'Behold, the bridegroom comes ! Let each and all 
Arise and haste to meet him as he goes, 

With his companions, to the banquet-hall.' 1520 

The maidens from their slumber then awoke, 

And lighted at the fire their torches : five 
Burned brightly, for they had been left to soak 

In oil; but five refused to keep alive 
The light-bestowing flame, and only sent 1525 

Obscuring smoke, which deeper darkness spread. 
Then to the maidens who were provident 

The scatter-brained and heedless maidens said : 
'Please lend us oil; our torches give no light.' 

The others answered: 'No; we can not lend, !53° 

For we have none to spare. If such your plight, 

Then go and buy wherever oil they vend.' 
But while those maidens went away to buy, 

The bridegroom came, and all who were prepared 
Went with him to the feast, each waving high 1535 

A torch that in the darkness brightly flared. 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 195 

The door was shut, and entrance was denied 

The heedless maidens when they tardily 
Came to the banquet-hall. They sadly cried : 

'Master, unbar the door for us !' Said he : 1540 

'Nay; for you did not greet me when I came, 
And now yourselves I openly disclaim.' 
The Self ineffable, the Mighty One Matt. xxii. 2-13 

Who rules the Realm, is likened to a king 
Who made a marriage banquet for his son, !545 

And sent his servants forth with word to bring 
The guests he had invited. But they all 

Refused to come, and then most patiently 
He sent out other messengers to call 

Those guests uncourteous. 'Tell them,' said he, 1550 

'That all my preparations have been made 

Most sumptuously, and bid them haste to come, 
So that the wedding- feast be not delayed.' 

But they refused to do his bidding: some 
Went to the country, to their own estates, 1555 

While others, taking ship, sailed far away 
To seek, as traders, profit that awaits 

Them who adventurous voyages essay; 
And those who stayed at home laid violent hand 

Upon the messengers, and murdered them. 1560 

The king did then in righteous wrath command 

His soldiers to march forth, and did condemn 
Those murderers to death, and did consign 

To the avenging flames their dwellings all. 
Then said he to his servants: 'None recline 1565 

At table in my waiting banquet-hall; 
All those respectable and busy folks 

Whom first I called were murderously proud— 
Now o'er their bones their burning city smokes ! 

So go ye forth among the ragged crowd 1570 

Who haunt the cross-roads where the matrons bring 

The viands meant for Hekate, and say, 



196 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

You now may dine on dainties with the king, 

For he invites the common folks to-day. 
And give them wedding-garments to replace 1575 

The wretched rags no righteous man should wear 
When in the palace he is face to face 

With his great king, and eats of royal fare.' 
Then into every place where three ways meet 

The messengers went forth, and rounded up 1 580 

The hunger-driven ones who there retreat 

On Hekate's unsavory fare to sup. 
They asked them not their names or origin, 

Or to what deme or cult each one belonged, 
But, noble and ignoble, brought them in, 1585 

Until with guests the banquet-hall was thronged. 
But when the king came in, he saw one guest 

Who had not put his wedding-garment on, 
And him the king reproachfully addressed : 

'How came you thus, when you were told to don ^S) 

The clean robes given you ? Why did you come 

Unto my banquet clothed in rags impure ?' 
That graceless guest for very shame was dumb. 

Then said the king : 'Seize ye this dirty boor, 
And cast him out, that like a hungry beast 1595 

He may return to Hekate's foul feast.' " 

Jesus, whene'er he taught the outer crowd, Matt. xiii. 34 

In parables would thus his meaning shroud, 
Nor would he, save by allegoric speech, 

The sacred mysteries to the rabble teach. 1600 

And his companions, when alone with him, Mk. iv. 10 

Said: "Teacher, when their vision is so dim, Matt. xiii. 10, 11 

Why did you teach those people on the strand 
In parables they can not understand?" 

He answered them: "The mysteries are known 1605 

Only to Seers, whose souls are fully grown. 
How can the mind that wears a swaddling-clout 
Search for the truth or ever find it out ? 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 

Whoso believes that Truth is veiled will find 

No veil except the clout that swathes his mind. 

The Real is never hid unless it take 

Illusion's form, and wear its robes opaque ; 

But that Illusion fades and disappears 

As man surmounts the generative spheres. 

To the profane the sacred truths are told 

In specious allegories, which unfold 

An inner sense that is the outer sheath 

Of greater mysteries hidden underneath: 

For they are fashioned cunningly to hide 

The secrets which they seemingly confide. 

For know, the True, the Beautiful, the Good, 

Can only by the pure be understood. 

To you, who true discipleship have gained, 

The mysteries of the Realm shall be explained ; 

But all the dullards whom Delusion blinds 

On myths and parables may whet their minds. 

Make not the temple- fane a house for dogs, 

And do not pose as Mystery-pedagogues, 

Imparting holy truths to graceless churls, 

As though you fed fair Wisdom's precious pearls 

To swine, who would but tread them in the mire, 

And venting on you all their brutish ire 

Because you fed them pearls instead of husks, 

Would turn about and rend you with their tusks." 

Aspiring parents unto Jesus brought 

Children of years too tender to be taught 

The truths profound, yet hoping he might touch 

With hallowing hand the babes they loved so much ; 

And his disciples kept reproving all 

Who brought him followers so young and sm< 

But Jesus was displeased when he beheld 

The parents thus uncivilly repelled, 

And said to his disciples feelingly : 

"Nay; let the little children come to me; 



197 

1610 
Mk. iv. 22. 11 



1615 



1620 



1625 



Matt. vii. 6 



1630 



Mk. x. 13, 14 
1636 



1640 



198 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Forbid them not: for they are types on earth J 645 

Of all who reach the Realm through solar birth. 

See that you do not in the least despise Matt, xviii. 10 

These little ones, or think yourselves more wise ; 

For though on earth their outer forms are seen, 

Their souls yet tarry in the Height serene: 1650 

Still undebased by passion's lightless fire, 

They linger in the presence of the Sire." 

And folding them in his protecting arms, Mk. x. 16 

He dwelt at length on childhood's artless charms. 

Said his disciples: "Now, if all who win Matt, xviii. 1, 3, 4 

The Starry Realm must, ere they enter in, 1656 

Be born anew, becoming infants— then, 

Who in the Realm are adults, full-grown men ?" 

Said he to them : "To win his heavenly place 

Man must turn back and rapidly retrace 1660 

The course by which his soul, through countless years, 

Has wandered blindly in the outer spheres ; 

And none has e'er the mystic border crossed 

Till he regained the child-state he had lost. 

Thus stooping to become a little child, 1665 

He in the Realm a full-grown man is styled." 

Said John, another theme to substitute, Mk. ix. 38-40 

"Master, we saw a roving Therapeut 

Who cast out spirits by the Power you use ; 

And we forbade him, for he did not choose 1670 

To go along with us." But Jesus said : 

"Forbid him not ; for none among 'the dead' 

In whom that Living Power may energize 

Can e'er again speak lightly of the Wise : 

And he, if not against us, to deride 1675 

The holy truths, is surely on our side. 

Whoso to mortals thus shall manifest Matt. x. 32, 42 

The Saving Power, and to its truth attest, 

Him shall that Power among Immortals place; 

And he who manifests a lesser grace, 1680 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 199 

Teaching as best he may those who, forsooth, 

Are babes in wisdom but desire the truth, 

Shall have his due reward : and he, indeed, 

Is like a man of strength who climbed with speed 

The mountain of the Gods, and going up 1685 

To Wisdom's fountain filled a brimming cup, 

And gave it, when returned from heights sublime, 

To one, a thirsty child, who could not climb. 

And he who calls those hungry souls to dine, Matt, xviii. 5, 6 

Sharing with them the mystic bread and wine, 1690 

Shall find his store not lessened but increased, 

The Self Divine presiding at the feast. 

But whoso, overwise, presumes to mock 

The sacred lore, and sets a stumbling-block 

Before these infants who, while weak of limb, 1 ^>95 

Are toddling after truth, 't were well for him 

If round his neck a millstone vast were hung, 

And into deepmost ocean he were flung." 

The pious formalists, who hoped to draw Mk. x. 2-9 

From Jesus some denial of the law, 1700 

Asked: "Do the ethics of the higher life 

Permit a husband to divorce his wife?" 

He answered them : "W nat says the law ?" Said they : 

"The law provides that wife or husband may, 

On certain grounds enacted, have recourse 1705 

To magistrates empowered to grant divorce." 

Said he : "The law aims only to adjust 

Conditions caused by selfishness and lust. 

Such moral problems must your minds perplex 

As long as men are slaves to sin and sex. 1 710 

And yet, indeed, it was not always thus : 

At first mankind were all androgynous ; 

But now, save when it stimulates the brain, 

The fire of life must work through sexes twain. 

Though two, the bodies of the man and wife 171 5 

Become one body to engender life, 



200 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Producing feeble forms that soon decay 

And turn to dust 'neath Death's unpitying sway." 

When he had spoken, his disciples said: Matt. xix. 10-12 

"This being so, 't were better not to wed." 1720 

He said to them : "The generative sphere Lk. xx. 34-36 

Must have its children, or 't would disappear ; 

And so its sons and daughters must perforce 

Live, propagate, and die, in cyclic course. 

But they who seek to win the deathless state 1725 

Forsake the ways of them who generate. 

The many, who for ages have been kept 

In bondage by desire, can not accept 

This doctrine, welcome only to the few 

Who would their pristine deathless state renew. 1730 

Let him accept it who with thought profound 

Wearies of life and death in ceaseless round ; 

For they who gain the mystic solar birth 

Need nevermore incarnate on the earth : 

Yea, death and life in their strong hands they hold 1735 

When bodied in the sun's sethereal gold." 

A learned man — who was indeed well versed Mk. xii. 28 

In strange traditions that are still rehearsed 

By those who many studious years devote 

To knowledge handed down from times remote — 1740 

Had listened to the questions and replies, 

And noting well how apposite and wise 

The Teacher's answers were, with due respect 

Now asked him : "Sir, what law would you select Matt. xxii. 36-39 

As making most for true morality 1 74S 

Of all the laws that Gods and men decree?" 

Him Jesus answered : "Priests unite to say 

That man should love his God. Wise, too, are they 

Who bid you, Love mankind." The man discerned Mk. xii. 32-34 

The covert thought on which his meaning turned, I 75° 

And said : "Your words, though wary, broadly hint 

That love of God may dwell in hearts of flint, 



THE CROWXIXG OF JESUS 201 

Unlike unselfish love for all mankind, 

Which is in pure and noble hearts enshrined. 

Who loves all men will find his soul is shod 1755 

With winged sandals, like the gracious God 

Who with his magic golden wand confers 

Wisdom divine upon his worshippers ; 

But they who cling to outer rites, and stain 

Their souls with blood of harmless victims slain 1760 

Upon their cruel altars, claim to love 

A cosmic Phantom in the heavens above." 

And Jesus said to this discerning man : 

"Like every true humanitarian, 

Your feet are on the path ; and well I know T 7^5 

To reach the Realm you have not far to go." 

Then said to him a grim theologist, Matt. xv. 1, 2 

Sneering at him, and not ashamed to twist 

The meaning of his words : "So then, my friend, 

To all lustrations you would put an end! ^77° 

If that be so, one clearly understands 

Why your disciples eat with grimy hands." 

To him the Master said : "Ye priestly souls, Lk. xi. 39 

So careful of externals, are like bowls 

The outer surfaces of which are clean, 1775 

But which within are filled with filth obscene. 

Cleanly in person, moral outwardly, 

You yet within your souls are never free 

From lusts ungratified but never killed ; 

And, even worse, your callous hearts are filled 1780 

With bigotry, and zeal to fleece your flocks, 

Your sheeplike followers. Ye orthodox, Matt, xxiii. 2j 

Who can not your own evil selves subdue, 

But pose as guides to others, woe to you ! 

For you, who hide with care your sins and faults, 1785 

Are like ornately stuccoed burial-vaults. 

Which, though they outwardly are white and fresh, 

Have naught within but bones and putrid flesh. 



202 



THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 



Yet you are holy men, forsooth, who think Matt, xxiii. 24 

The mighty stream of life, whence all men drink, 1790 

Would be defiled did you not scrutinize 
Its surface, which reflects the cloud-veiled skies ; 
And should a gnat fall in it, then, no doubt, 
With great ado you 'd grandly strain it out ; 

But should a camel in the waters drown I 795 

You 'd see it not, but blindly gulp it down. 

But woe to you, dark priests who have enslaved Matt, xxiii. 13 
The minds of men, and with a faith depraved 
Have fanned the fears and passions of your dupes 
Till they are either knaves or nincompoops ! 1800 

You stole and hid the key to sacred lore, Lk. xi. 52 

Closing against mankind the Mystery-door. 
For you had not the right to enter in, 
And were refused the mystic discipline : 

You were among the many who may bear Matt. xxii. 14 

The sacred thyrsos; but you could not wear 1806 

The robes of the Initiate glorified, 
Because you were impure ; hence you have tried, 
Since you yourselves sought entrance there in vain, 
To keep the worthy ones from Wisdom's fane." 1810 

A scholar — one of those who scorn to look Lk. xi. 45, 46 

, For knowledge save 't is written in a book, 
And leave their souls unopened and unread — 
Took umbrage at the Teacher's words, and said : 
''Good sir, when you would thus the priests abash, 181 5 

On learned men as well you lay the lash." 

And Jesus said : "The learning which you boast Matt, xxiii. 29-32 
Shall count for naught in regions nethermost, 
Where Plouton reigns, nor save from suffering dire 
Your souls when they in water, air and fire 1820 

Are purified, and then are made to drink 
The memory-dulling draught at Lethe's brink. 
For you with learnedness are so puffed up 
That you refuse to drink from Wisdom's cup. 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 203 

The sacred writings left by seers of old ^ 2 S 

To you are but as burial-vaults that hold 

Dry skeletons which you exhume and dress 

In modern garb of fancied prettiness. 

The fair philosophies the ancient wise 

Gave to the world you take and formalize; 1830 

Their spirit e'er escapes you, but you find 

Their bones may be in many w T ays combined. 

And grateful for the pleasure you thus gain 

In toying with the bones of martyrs slain 

By priests who plunged the world in darkest night 1< &Z5 

And made e'en murder a religious rite, 

You say, Tf we had lived in that dark age 

We 'd not have murdered every seer and sage, 

As did our fathers— though we keep, of course, 

The sweet religion founded thus on force.' 1840 

So you yourselves have testified that you 

Are firm disciples of the priests who slew 

The sages, seers, and worthy men who scorned 

To heed those priests or be by them suborned. 

Go, then, ye bigots, treacherous and grim, 1845 

And fill with blood, up to the very brim, 

The measure which your fathers partly filled 

When they earth's noblest sons and daughters killed. 

Cruel of heart are ye, and cold of mind, 

Ye pious murderers of divine mankind !" J 85o 

Enraged at him, yet making no reply, Matt. xii. 14 

The priests at once resolved that he must die : 

So they withdrew, and by themselves apart 

Took counsel how by their nefarious art 

They might effect the death of this new Seer 1855 

Whose words had roused their hatred and their fear. 



204 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

III 

Summer had ended, and the shortening days Lk. ix. 51-56 

Proclaimed that soon the sun, with lessened rays, 

Reaching the point where most his light declines, 

Would journey through the six ascending signs: i860 

And Jesus, going forward, to the end 

That to the Father's Realm he should ascend, 

Now towards the sacred city turned his face, 

Irradiant with inherent power and grace. 

His messengers, the seventy-two who went 1865 

In loving couples, in advance he sent 

To make due preparations for his stay 

At every village situate on the way. 

At one, a midway village, when they came, 

The dwellers honored not the Master's name, 1870 

Nor would receive him, but like snarling curs 

Demeaned themselves. These churlish villagers 

Denied that he was King, and ridiculed 

His going to the city priesthood-ruled. 

And seeing this, the two most fiery ones 1875 

Of his disciples, James and John, the Sons 

Of Thunder, asked him : "Is it thy desire 

That we should hurl at them celestial fire, 

And so consume those wretches who contemn 

Thy royal claims ?" But Jesus chided them 1880 

For their too fiery zeal, and mildly chose 

Another village, where they took repose. 

As he, the unanointed, crownless king, Matt. xx. 17-19 

With his disciples all, was journeying 

Unto the sacred city which by right 1885 

To him belonged, and to the Powers of Light, 

But which had suffered long an evil doom, 

Ruled by the priests and powers of midnight gloom, 

His twelve companions close around him drew, 

Creating thus among his retinue 1890 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 205 

An inner circle ; unto them he said : 

"Behold, the weary way which now we tread 

Leads to the sacred city. There shall I, 

Seized by the cruel priests, be doomed to die : 

Me of my royal honors they shall rob, 1895 

And hand me over to the mindless mob 

To mock and buffet. Scornfully denied 

My earthly realm, I shall be crucified ; 

But when the sun arising shall illume 

On the third day my dismal rock-hewn tomb, 1900 

I shall arise, by death no longer bound, 

A King of Life, anointed, robed and crowned." 

Having foretold his death by violence, Mk. viii. 32, 33 

He then explained to them the inner sense, 

Revealing how this death upon the cross ^OS 

Was birth to life eternal, not the loss 

Of earthly life. But Simon's reasoning mind 

Nor grasped his words nor could their meaning find; 

And he reproved the Master in dismay 

For speaking words ill-omened on the way. 19 10 

But Jesus, turning, singled Simon out 

From the disciples circled round about 

For stern rebuke, thus saying unto him : 

"Get you behind me ; for your light is dim. 

You centre not your mind on things divine, I 9 I 5 

But ever unto worldly thoughts incline." 

And on the seventh day again they came Matt. xvii. 1-5 

To that great Mount where he had called by name 

His twelve companions and abroad had sent 

The seventy- two as wedded couples blent. 1920 

And breaking journey there, he called upon 

But three disciples, Judas, James and John, 

To go with him and climb its lofty height, 

Putting to test their manliness and might. 

And when upon its highest peak he trod 1925 

In splendent semblance he became a God : 



206 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

His face was radiant as the golden sun 

Arising in the East its course to run; 

And o'er his raiment, whiter than the moon, 

Bright scintillating lights were thickly strewn 1930 

Like glittering stars. And lo, beside him stood 

Two others of the glorious brotherhood, 

The Guardian of Justice, and the Seer, 

Descended from their own supernal sphere 

To greet the Teacher destined soon to gain 1935 

The Starry Realm and with themselves to reign. 

Said Judas unto him : "If 't is thy will, 

Let us build here a splendid domicile, 

A habitation reared with massive walls, 

Pierced by twelve doors, and having three great halls, 1940 

One each for thee, the Seer, and Him who gives 

Justice exact to every one who lives." 

Ere he had ceased to speak, behold, there streamed 

Above their heads a fleecy cloud that gleamed 

With golden fire, whence vivid lightnings flamed; J 945 

And from its luminous depths a Voice proclaimed : 

"These three, Seer, Teacher, Giver of the Law, 

Are one, the Self Triune. Regard with awe 

This Teacher, who is my beloved Son, 

And hear his words of wisdom. He has won I 95° 

The right to lay his earthly burden down 

And in the Realm supernal wear his crown." 

But when the heavenly Voice had ceased to speak, Lk. ix. 36 

Alone stood Jesus on the mountain peak. 

When Jesus, with his band of devotees, Mk. xi. 1-9 

Had reached the mountain of the olive-trees, J 956 

Near to the sacred city, he sent on 

Before him two disciples, James and John, 

Saying to them : "To yonder village go 

Which lies before you, situate below i960 

The mount of olive-trees ; and when you pass 

Into the village, you will find an ass 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 207 

Tied at the place where backward turns the road- 

An ass which mortal never has bestrode. 

And when you have untied it, bring it her ^^S 

Should any in the village interfere 

And say to you, 'Why are you doing this ?' 

Make this reply, ' 'T is surely not amiss 

That we should take the ass, if in due time 

We bring it back; for now the King sublime 1 97° 

Has need of it, and truly it is blest 

In being by the Solar King impressed.' ' 

They went, and where the road turns sharply back- 

As when the sun upon its northern track 

Pauses awhile, and then is southward bound — 1975 

The two disciples by the wayside found 

An ass, a young one, tethered near the gate, 

Within the village ; and they did not wait 

To find its owner, but at once untied 

The solar steed their Master meant to ride. 1980 

And standing there were certain villagers, 

Who said : "By whose authority, good sirs, 

Do you untie the ass?" They made reply 

As Jesus had directed them, thereby 

Showing they acted rightly. Xo one said 1 9^>S 

A word of protest ; and the ass they led 

To Jesus, placing on it as a pad 

The woollen cloaks in which they had been clad, 

And he bestrode it. Many followers spread 

Their cloaks upon the way, and some, instead, !99° 

Strewed rushes which they plucked beside the road ; 

And all the people as they onward strode, 

Or pressing on behind him or before, 

Their voices raised, and chanted o'er and o'er 

A joyous paean, omen of success, 1 99S 

Calling upon the mighty Gods to bless 

Their King now riding forth to overwhelm 

The powers of darkness and regain his Realm. 



208 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

But ere he reached the sacred city's gate, Lk. xiii. 31-34 

The priests, intending to intimidate 2000 

The Master, sent out messengers of dread, 

Who met him on the way and grimly said : 

"Thou, foolish as the ass thou ridest upon, 

Give up thy claim to kingship, and begone ; 

Else will the tetrarch, as he sternly saith, 2005 

Upraised upon the cross put thee to death." 

But he, intrepid, answered : "Go ye back, 

And tell that wolf and all the howling pack 

Of priests predacious that this very day, 

And two days more, I shall my power display 2010 

Against them all : for I shall drive them out 

As they wxre evil spirits such as flout 

The Powers of Light, and I shall soothe the pangs 

Of victims wounded by their wolfish fangs. 

And I shall be, ere past are seven days, 2015 

A King-Initiate, crowned with solar rays." 

And gazing at the city, now debased, Lk. xix. 41 

Though once with every noble virtue graced, 

The great compassion in his bosom pent 

Burst forth in words of unrestrained lament: Matt, xxiii. 37 

"O stately city, thou wast once the heart 2021 

Where brooded Love Divine ; but now thou art 

Viler than any wanton known on earth, 

Thou murderess of the Seers and men of worth ! 

How oft I 've yearned thy sin-stains to efface 2025 

And fold thy children in my fond embrace, 

E'en as a hen with fine solicitude 

Shelters beneath her wings her downy brood. 

But thou hast given thy little ones as prey 

To wolfish priests who walk the crimson way." 2030 

When he and his disciples came at last Mk. xi. 15-18 

Unto the city's gate and through it passed, 

He entered in the temple, now a mart 

Where sordid priests profanely played the part 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 209 

Of petty dealers in religious wares— 2035 

Their spurious doctrines, ineffectual prayers, 

And rites that serve no purpose save to fill 

With awe their followers, and with gold their till. 

There, too, were others, wretches even worse, 

The priests who scrupled not to fill their purse 2040 

With money which the temple- women earned — 

The poor soiled doves who had from virtue turned 

To worship shamelessly their Goddess-queen, 

The "Mighty Mother," with her rites obscene. 

The Master sternly from the temple drove 2045 

The priests who thus on superstition throve, 

And said to them : "This place should be the fane 

Where Love Divine should absolutely reign, 

Driving all evil from the hearts of men ; 

But ye have changed it to a filthy den 2050 

Where ye and your dark doves of death hold sway — 

Ye prowling wolves, who make mankind your prey !" 

And when he had expelled those men of sin, 

He made the fane his own, and taught therein ; 

While those foul priests whom he had driven ou 2 °55 

Plotted among themselves to bring about 

His death, that they might then regain their place 

And lord it o'er the fickle populace. 

The Master, now the fane was purified, 

Taught while 't was day, then rode at eventide, Matt. xxi. 17-21 

With his disciples following behind, 

Unto the village where he had divined 

That they would find the ass, and took his rest 

With them who bade him welcome as their guest. 

At dawn, when still the sky was cold and gray, 2065 

As towards the city's gate he took his way, 

He hungered. Dimly through the mist was seen 

Beside the way a fig-tree leafed and green 

And Jesus came to it and looked it o'er 

To see if haply any fruit it bore ; 2070 



210 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

But though the tree seemed flourishing and sound, 

Upon its spreading limbs the Master found 

Nothing but leaves. Then said he to the tree : 

"No more on earth shall fruit be borne by thee." 

And his disciples saw, with deep amaze, 2075 

The fig-tree withering before their gaze, 

Till but a lifeless trunk, with branches dry 

And leafless, showed against the misty sky. 

Said his disciples wonderingly to him : 

"How is it that the tree, in trunk and limb, 2080 

Withered away and lost its leafy cloak, 

Becoming dead the instant that you spoke?" 

He answered them : "Indeed, if you have faith — 

Not mere opinion, which is but the wraith 

Of true belief —you shall not only do • 2085 

This feat of magic I have shown to you 

By shrivelling up the tree, both branch and root, 

That robbed the earth of force but gave no fruit, 

But even should you — if the Self agrees — 

Say to yon mountain of the olive-trees, 2090 

'Be thou uptorn from where thou now art fast, 

And into ^Ether's shining sea be cast,' 

Your magic power, unfettered and complete, 

Would easily perform that mighty feat. 

But first believe, ere you begin the task, Mk. xi. 24, 25 

That all the things for which you pray and ask 2096 

Are yours already, somewhere stored away 

In your eternal treasury till the day 

Your soul may need them and may seek to find 

Those treasures hoarded in the deathless mind. 2100 

And when on sacred things you meditate, 

The Presence to invoke, no tinge of hate 

For any being should incarnadine 

The seven aethers offered on the shrine 

Within the heart: forgive ye freely, then, 2105 

All wrongs you 've suffered at the hands of men, 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 211 

That He whose perfect justice never fails 

May your forgivingness weigh on the scales 

Against your own misdeeds. And when you pray, Matt. vi. 9-1 1 

Unto the Self your yearning thus convey: 21 10 

Our Father in the starry heavens enthroned, 

In sacred ritual be thy name intoned ; 

Thy realm established be among the blest, 

Thy will on earth, as in the heavens, expressed. 

Supernal wisdom grant us now to know, 21 15 

Nor stay its coming through the ages slow : 

To-morrow's bread of life to-day on us bestow. " 

Continuing on their way as they conversed, Mk. xi. 27-33 

They reached the city. Jesus, as at first, 

Entered the temple, there to spend the day 2120 

Teaching and pointing out the perfect way. 

Came then the priests, enraged and envious, 

His right and power to challenge, saying thus : 

"Hast thou usurped our temple but to rant, 

Claiming thou art a grand hierophant 2125 

On whom authority has been conferred 

To teach the mysteries to the common herd ? 

From whom, or through what source, didst thou obtain 

Authority to teach in our great fane. 

Whence thou didst cast us out?" But he replied: 2I 3° 

"First ye yourselves this question must decide 

Which now I ask you, Was the lustral rite 

The Lesser Teacher gives each neophyte 

Established by the Gods, or but by men ? 

Answer me this, and I shall tell you then 2I 35 

By what authority I seized by force 

This temple, which is mine, and here discourse." 

At this reply the priests were sorely vexed ; 

In whispers they discussed it, much perplexed, 

Saying: "This man with whom we are at odds, 2140 

If we should say, 'The rite is from the Gods,' 



212 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Would answer, 'Why, then, did you not receive 

The lustral rite, if you indeed believe 

'T was from the Gods?* And yet if we should say, 

'The rite was framed by men' " — They paused to weigh 2145 

The consequences ; for they greatly feared 

To irritate the people, who revered 

The Lesser Teacher, knowing him to be. 

A holy Seer. Therefore they sullenly 

Confessed defeat, and said: "We do not know." 2150 

Said Jesus : "Then to you I will not show 

My ample power, authority and right 

To share this temple with the Powers of Light : 

Ye, of the Lesser Teacher ignorant, 

Acknowledge not the Great Hierophant." 2I 55 

The Master, now endeavoring to reach Mk. xii. 1 

Their conscience, used his allegoric speech : 

"I '11 state a case, and your opinion ask. Matt. xxi. 28-34 

A man who had two sons set each a task : 

Unto the first he came, and said, with mild 2160 

And gracious manner, 'Go to-day, my child, 

And in my vineyard work.' But. he declined, 

Saying, T will not.' Then he changed his mind, 

And went soon after. Next the father came 

Unto the second son, and said the same. 2165 

He answered, 'Sire, I '11 go,' but never went. 

Now, which of these two sons, in this event, 

Did as his father willed he should that day?" 

"Easily answered ; 't was the first," said they. 

Said Jesus unto them: "Then do not frown 2170 

When I assert that women of the town 

And men debased by wickedness and wine 

Shall reach, before yourselves, the Realm divine. 

For e'en the men whom you regard as brutes, 

And those unfortunates, the prostitutes, 2I 75 

Received the Lesser Teacher as their guide 

And by his holy rite were purified : 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 213 

They, though benighted, struggled towards the light; 

But you, rejecting him, disdained his rite, 

And even when you saw how he inspired 2180 

To purity the men by sin bemired, 

You, whom self -righteousness defiles and blinds, 

Nor opened up your hearts nor changed your minds. 

Another allegory hear ye now : 

A man who owned a field went forth to plow ; 2185 

And having turned the soil and worked it fine, 

He planted it with cuttings of the vine. 

And when his vineyard yielded year by year 

The purple grapes whose juice promotes good cheer, 

He let it out to husbandmen, and went 2190 

Unto a distant country. But he sent Lk. xx. 10-16 

A servant, when the time of vintage came, 

A stated portion of the fruits to claim. 

The husbandmen, however, thought to cheat 

The owner of his profits, and they beat 2I 95 

With staves the servant, driving him away 

Without the fruits they had engaged to pay. 

The owner sent another servant then ; 

But knavishly those brutal husbandmen 

Withheld the fruits, and cudgelled like the first 2200 

The second servant, whom they foully cursed, 

And drove away. The owner, undeterred, 

Another servant sent to them, the third ; 

But he, as well, was beaten by those knaves, 

And driven away, sore wounded by their staves. 2205 

The vineyard-owner said : 'What shall be done ? 

I '11 send to them my well-beloved son, 

Whom surely they will treat with due respect.' 

But in their evil course they were not checked : 

Seeing the son, who came to take the share 2210 

His father claimed, they said: 'This is the heir; 

Now let us kill him, for he comes alone, 

And so we '11 make the heritage our own.' 



214 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

And then the heartless scoundrels seized and slew 

The vineyard-owner's only son, and threw 2215 

The corpse without. What, therefore, shall the sire 

Do to those murderers in his righteous ire ? 

From far he will return, and them will crush 

As they were trodden grapes whose juices gush 

Within the wine-vat of the God of Seers ; 2220 

Yea, he will scatter them, when he appears, 

Like chaff which far afield the breezes fling 

When with his fan the God is winnowing. " 

The priests perceived that they themselves were meant, Matt. xxi. 

Although they did not grasp the full intent 45, 46 

Of these two parables. They would have slain 2226 

The Master even in the holy fane 

But that, for all their rage, they held in fear 

The plain but muscular people standing near. 

Then forth stood one among his audience Lk. xvii. 20, 21 

And asked: "When comes the Realm Divine, and whence ?" 2231 

Said Jesus : "Mortal ne'er that Realm can find 

Through outer senses or the reasoning mind. 

The Gods who sacred mysteries declare 

Say never, 'Lo, 't is here!' or 'Lo, 't is there!' 22 35 

If thou wouldst seek the Realm,, with heart devout, 

Then seek within thyself, and not without. 

Enter the secret strong-room of thy soul, Matt. vi. 6 

And having closed the doors of sense, control 

And hush the brain-born thoughts that make a din 2240 

The sacred precincts of thy mind within; 

Then in the Silence seek the Lord of Thought, 

Whose mighty works are in that Silence wrought, 

And he, the solar-rayed and sceptred Guide, 

Will lead thee to the Kingdom glorified. 2245 

Ye who are wise in nature's ways profess Lk. xii. 54-56 

To read her signs, and oft you shrewdly guess : 

Thus, seeing in the west a storm-cloud lower, 

You say at once, 'There comes a cooling shower' ; 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 215 

And when you note the wind is from the south, 2250 

You say, 'The land will suffer from a drouth.' 

In either case fulfilment justifies 

Your forecast, proving you are weather-wise. 

The signs of earth and sky you rightly read ; 

But wherefore do you neither note nor heed 22 55 

The signs within, which by their starry shine 

Foreshow the coming of the Realm Divine?" 

That second day, when now the hour was late, Mk. xiii. 1 , 2 

He left the temple. Pausing at the gate, 

Judas said : "Teacher, see how grand appear 2260 

These buildings of the temple : tier on tier 

Of massive stones are skilfully combined 

As modelled in the master-mason's mind." 

To him said Jesus : "Dost thou gaze awhile 

Admiringly at yon majestic pile? 2265 

Thou art thyself the power I shall employ 

When I, to gain my Kingdom, shall destroy 

A nobler temple, leaving not one stone 

Upon another. When 't is overthrown, Mk. xiv. 58 

I shall with toil titanic, in three days, 2270 

Another and more splendid temple raise, 

A temple that eternally shall stand, 

Built by myself, but by the Father planned." 

Again they went to make their nightly stay Mk. xiii. 3, 4 

With- those good folks whose friendly village lay 22 75 

Beneath the mountain of the olive-trees ; 

And sitting there, secluded and at ease, 

They gazed upon the city ; and behold, 

The temple flamed afar with living gold — 

Gilt by the rays the setting sun now shed. 2280 

To Jesus then the five, his brothers, said : Matt. xxiv. 3 

"Now tell us, at what time shall be fulfilled 

These wondrous sayings ? Shall a glory gild 

Thy person, even as with golden light 

The temple now is bathed, till in our sight 2285 



216 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

It seems a mighty topaz, lifting high 

Its gleaming walls against the sunset sky ? 

Or what shall be the sign, to mortals shown, 

That in the Kingdom thou hast ta'en thy throne, 

And that by magic thou hast built amain— 2290 

To crown our age-long toil — that stately fane?" 

And Jesus, answering, said : "Take heed alway Lk. xxi. 8 

That ye be not deceived or led astray : 

For many charlatans, of evil soul— 

They of the turbid crimson aureole, 22 95 

Who desecrate my name for power and pelf — 

Shall come to you and say, 'Lo, I myself 

The King-Initiate am' ; and, 'Now the dawn 

Is whitening in thy soul.' They are the spawn 

Of sorcery and vice. With deep disgust 2300 

Shun ye those sons of sorcery and lust. 

Be not cajoled by any, or allured, Mk. xiii. 21, 22 

When they shall say to you, 'Be ye assured 

That here the King-Initiate is,' or, 'there.' 

Of such false seers and sorcerers beware : 2 3°5 

Many are they, the Gorgon's counterparts, 

And they shall try, with their goetic arts, 

And using many a lure and stratagem, 

To lead upon the way of death all them 

Who seek the hidden knowledge though they lack - 2310 

Sense to discern between the white and black. 

To you these perils I have now foretold. Matt. xxiv. 25-27 

If, therefore, any say to you, 'Behold, 

He whom ye seek, the glorious Lord of Thought, 

In some far-distant desert should be sought,' 2 3 J 5 

Go ye not forth to search the wilds for him. 

Or if they say, 'Behold, in cloisters dim 

If thou shouldst meditate, year after year, 

The Lord of Thought shall unto thee appear,' 

Believe them not, nor quit the world of men 2320 

To mope apart in some religious den. 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 217 

For as at birth of dawn there dimly shows 

A glimmer in the east that spreads and grows 

Till to the west glad streams of radiance run, 

And rises then resplendently the sun, 2 3 2 5 

So shall the Self, the Heavenly King, make known 

His coming when he nears his waiting throne. 

Now, from the fig-tree learn, for it unfolds Mk. xiii. 28, 29 

The inner sense the allegory holds : 

When on its branches, soft and tipped with green, 2330 

Expanding leaves and swelling fruits are seen, 

You know that soon the summer shall begin : 

So, too, the tree of life, yourself within, 

Shall wisdom's fruits and healing leaves unroll 

When comes the sacred summer of the soul. 2 335 

The inner Self, for his divine delay, Mk. xiii. 34-36 

Is likened to a man who took his way 

Unto a distant country to sojourn, 

And left his home, until he should return, 

In care of servants, each of whom he told 2 340 

His duties (for their works were manifold), 

Charging the keepers that at every gate 

Close watch be kept, to guard the whole estate. 

Watch, therefore ; for you know not at what time, 

Or to which gate, may come the Lord sublime, 2 345 

Whether at sunset, midnight, dawn or noon ; 

Lest coming when you deem it oversoon 

To look for him, he find you fast asleep 

Beside the gate that you were set to keep. 

When in thy soul the Living Power is freed, Mk. xiii. 7, 8 

The powers debased, which it must supersede — 2 35 x 

The dark desires and all the lusts that cling 

To earth, and on the soul affliction bring — 

Are roused to final war : till these are slain 

Initiation thou canst not attain. 2 355 

The world within thee shall be shaken then 

As by the savage strife of mighty men, 



218 



THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 



Of warriors panoplied, when sword and shield 

Clash loudly on the reddening battle-field, 

And chariots rumble as the horses pound 

With flying hoofs the bruised and trembling ground. 

Yea, it shall be as if the powers below 

Were shattering the world to overthrow 

The powers of heaven, extinguishing the light 

Of sun and moon, and hurling from the height 

The shining stars. Be not dismayed : such woes 

And war of worlds are verily the throes 

Which every soul endures when from the earth 

'T is freed, and through the mystic solar birth 

Becomes a crowned and sceptred God, arrayed 

In vesture which the Power Divine has made. 

Know, therefore, when thou seest the city's wall 

By legions thus beleaguered, that its fall 

Is now impending; for wherever lies 

The carcass, there the vultures claim their prize. 

But when thy world seems ruined utterly, 

And darkness reigns supremely, thou shalt see 

A rosy light increasingly illume 

The quarter in the east, the solar womb ; 

And then amidst the golden clouds, behold, 

The King of Stars, the higher Self of old, 

Shall rise again in majesty and might, 

To reign forever o'er the Powers of Light. 

Then shall he bid his messengers disperse 

To all four quarters of the universe 

To bring together all who are his own 

Among the Fourfold Powers. Upon his throne 

He shall be seated, glorious as the sun ; 

Before him shall be gathered every one 

Of those who were his own in every age 

And nation writ on earth's historic page : 

For many were the mortal selves in whom 

The God has dwelt as in a living tomb. 



2360 



2365 



Lk 



2370 



. xxi. 20 



Matt. xxiv. 28 

2375 
Mk. xiii. 26 



2380 



Mk. xiii. 27 
2385 



Matt. 



XXV. 



31-46 



2390 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 219 

He then shall sort the worthy from the bad, 

As when with curve-tipped staff a shepherd-lad 2 395 

Sorts from the shaggy goats the woolly sheep, 

That on his right hand he may safely keep 

The gentle flock of sheep with fleecy coats, 

And on the left the rank, unruly goats. 

Then shall the King say unto them who stand, 2400 

Arrayed in purest white, at his right hand : 

'Come, ye the blessed, whom the Sire commends, 

Enter the Realm : for ye were aye my friends. 

For I was hungry, and ye gave me food ; 

As one who in a rainless solitude 2405 

Has lost his way, with feverish thirst I burned, 

And ye then gave me drink ; to you I turned 

For succor when in rags compelled to roam, 

And me ye clothed, and took me to your home ; 

I was a sufferer, and ye cared for me ; 2410 

I was imprisoned, and ye set me free.' 

And they shall say : 'O King most glorious, 

When did we succor thee and aid thee thus ? 

We were but mortals, knowing grief and pain, 

Whilst thou art placed 'mid deathless Gods to reign.' 2415 

The King shall answer : 'Every time that ye 

Helped e'en the lowliest sufferer, 't was to me 

That ye were rendering service.' But all them 

Who cower at the left he shall condemn, 

Saying to them : 'Depart from me, ye scum 2420 

Of earthly life, its base residuum : 

Your presence would pollute my holy Realm. 

So get ye hence ; for endless night shall whelm 

All such as ye. When I of yore applied 

To you for succor, it was aye denied : 2425 

When thirst and hunger haled me toward the grave, 

Ye offered me no food, nor even gave 

A cup of water ; when to you I came, 

A ragged, homeless waif, ye felt no shame 



220 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

At turning me away to starve and freeze ; 2430 

When I was sick, ye did not try to ease 

My ceaseless pain ; when I, for no offence, 

Was placed in prison, ye did not take me thence.' 

And they shall answer : When, O mighty King, 

Did we e'er see thee sick and suffering, 2 435 

Or destitute, or into prison thrown, 

And leave thee thus in misery to moan?' 

Then shall he say to them : 'Whene'er in scorn 

Ye turned from them who, w T retched and forlorn, 

Besought compassion or for justice cried, 2440 

And when ye trampled down or thrust aside 

Your brothers, in your mad pursuit of pelf, 

Crushing mankind with woes, 't was I myself — 

Whilst yet I dwelt in mortal form of clay — 

From whom disdainfully ye turned away : 2 445 

Yea, it was I on whom those woes were heaped, 

When ye your transient gains of lucre reaped.' 

They shall be banished then to endless night ; 

But all the worthy souls, arrayed in white, 

Shall in the Realm of Life Eternal stay, 2450 

Where darkness ne'er divides the nightless day." 



IV 

At dawn the Master took his way once more Lk. xxi. 37, 38 

Unto the temple; there, as twice before, 

He taught the people. This third day was one Mk. xiv. 12-16 

Which men had consecrated to the Sun: 2 455 

They in their ritual sacrificed and ate 

A ram, thus fittingly to celebrate 

The triumph of the Sun when he contends 

Against the powers of gloom ; for winter ends 

When he, the Lord of Light, is lifted high 2460 

Upon the cross that intersects the sky 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 221 

Where stands the stellar Ram with golden fleece. 

Of old the Bull thus marked the earth's release 

From winter's bonds ; and so a bull or ox 

Was victim at the vernal equinox. 2465 

To Jesus, therefore, came the twelve and said : 

"Where do you wish that we should go and spread 

A feast to celebrate the birth of spring, 

When ritualists crucify the solar king?" 

And Jesus, having power Promethean 2470 

To see the future, said to them : "A man 

Bearing a water-pitcher will await 

Simon and Andrew at the western gate : 

So follow him, ye two ; and when he goes 

Into his house, to him you shall disclose 2 475 

Your errand, saying, 'He who sent us here. 

Our Teacher, needs a room where he this year 

May celebrate with us the vernal feast.' 

The Water-bearer, old Poseidon's priest, 

Will welcome you as friends he knew of yore, 2480 

And show you, on his dwelling's highest floor, 

The third, a large, well- furnished dining-hall ; 

There make ye preparations for us all." 

The two disciples then went forth to do 

As they were bidden. At the gate the two 2485 

Met with the Water-bearer, who complied 

With their request; and so, at eventide, Mk. xiv. 17, 22-25 

When Jesus and the twelve went forth, it fared 

That there awaited them a room prepared, 

The room the "Water-bearer had assigned 2490 

To them ; and there at table all reclined. 

The Master took and broke a loaf of bread, 

First having duly hallowed it, and said, 

As he apportioned it the twelve among : 

"This is my flesh : 't is not the body sprung 2495 

From mortal womb ; its filaments were spun 

Of purest aethers which the golden sun 



222 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Breathes forth. This ye the twelve shall now receive; 

For ye my helpers are, and I shall weave 

A glorious fabric, and myself array 2500 

In vesture that can never know decay." 

And taking then a golden drinking-cup 

With sparkling ruddy wine he filled it up; 

And when the due libation he had made, 

He held the cup aloft as he conveyed 2 5°5 

Its import, saying: ''This is blood divine, 

The ichor of the Gods, which shall be mine 

When I, immortal, am enthroned with them, 

And wear my robe and jewelled diadem. 

The vine's life-blood that to the vat escapes 2 5io 

In crimson streams from crushed and bleeding grapes 

I nevermore shall drink until 't is pressed 

From fruitage of the vine in regions blest, 

Whose grapes yield living wine when they are trod 

Within the wine-vat of the leaf-crowned God: 2 5 T 5 

Yea, I shall taste no more the vinous force 

Till I may drink at its primordial source." 

Then, tasting of the cup, he passed it on Mk. x. 35, 37-40 

To those two Sons of Thunder, James and John; 

But they, ere lifting to their lips the cup, 2 S 2 ° 

Appealed to Jesus, boldly speaking up, 

And saying : "Master, wilt thou give command 

That we be throned with thee on either hand 

When thou, victorious o'er embattled Night, 

Dost reign among the glorious Powers of Light?" 2 5 2 5 

He answered : "Dare ye drink this cup of blood, 

And plunge with me beneath the mighty flood 

Of force titanic that shall rend the earth 

When I, your King, achieve the solar birth?" 

And they, the dauntless, fiery-footed pair, 2 53° 

Made answer : "Yea, beloved King, we dare !" 

Then said to them the Master: "Ye shall drink 

This cup of mine, and ye with me shall sink 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 223 

Into the sea of flame that shall outflow 

From Earth when she the pangs shall undergo 2 535 

Of giving birth to her immortal Son — 

Myself, when I the final task have done. 

But 't is not I myself who shall assign 

To you the thrones which in the Realm divine 

Are set on either side of that great throne 2540 

That I, when crowned as King, shall make mine own ; 

It is the Father who ordained that you 

Shall on those thrones be seated. For ye two Matt. xvi. 18, 19 

Are guardians of the gates of death and birth ; 

And I shall give the keys of heaven and earth 2545 

Into your keeping : any soul ye bind 

In heaven shall then on earth its body find, 

And when from earth a soul by you is freed 

Unto its heavenly home it shall proceed." 

The two disciples took the cup and drank, 2 55° 

Pluming themselves on holding higher rank 

Than did the others, each of whom received 

The cup and drank of it. The ten were grieved Mk. x. 41-44 

That John and James should thus outrank the rest 

And hold the highest thrones among the blest ; 2 555 

But Jesus said to them : "Ye know, indeed, 

That they who are supposed to rule and lead 

The common people treat them as their slaves. 

Their rule ennobles not, but e'er depraves 

The masses, whom they wickedly despoil 2560 

Of all the richest fruitage of their toil. 

But ye five brothers and your sisters share 

With me all things in common ; and we bear 

Alike our burdens. Ye are equals all, 

And I, your king, obey you when you call : Lk. xxii. 27-30 

While ye, the twelve, at table now recline, 2566 

'T is I who wait upon you as ye dine. 

Ruling is service : he 's the noblest king 

Who makes himself the nation's underling, 



224 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Toiling to serve the subjects of his realm, ' 2570 

And helping faultless Fate, who holds the helm. 

Behold, around mine own celestial throne 

Are set twelve others, like a jewelled zone 

Within the Realm that evermore endures, 

And these, as I have told you, shall be yours; 2 575 

For ye, my brothers five and sisters seven, 

Shall share my reign in the eternal heaven." 

Again, as they were eating, Jesus said: Mk. xiv. 18-20 

"This night the demons of the darkness dread, 

In human form incarnate, like wild beasts 2580 

Prowling for prey, shall seize me : they are priests, 

And Fate ordains that by a stratagem 

One of yourselves shall hand me o'er to them." 

Heart-sore with sorrow, one by one they cried, 

Saying, "Not I, I hope!" And he replied: 2585 

" 'T is he — one of the five — who now dips in 

The selfsame bowl with me, and is my twin ; 

And all of you, the twelve on whom I wait, Mk. xiv. 27, 29-31 

This night shall flee, and leave me to my fate." 

Said Simon : "Though the others all may flee, 2590 

Andrew, my twin, and I shall cling to thee." 

Said Jesus unto him : "This night, ere twice 

The cock shall crow, thou shalt deny me thrice." 

But Simon hotly said : "I '11 ne'er deny 

Or leave thee, even if with thee I die !" 2 595 

And all the twelve joined voices to declare 

That they the Master's fate would fully share. 

Leaving the Water-bearer's house, where they 

Had held their feast in honor of the day 

On which the Sun, though crucified, would win 2600 

Glad victory, and the Springtime would begin, 

They took their way, on nightly rest intent, 

Unto the mount of olives ; ere they went Mk. xiv. 26 

They sang a joyful paean to the Sun, 

Who year by year this victory had won. 2605 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS • 225 

But at the village now they did not stop : Mk. xiv. 32-35 

This night they climbed up to the mountain-top, 

Where men by whom the Sun was loved and praised 

Had to the Lord of Life an altar raised 

Within a field enclosed— a sacred park 2610 

Of which the Pole-star is the hierarch, 

For he, a distant Sun, shines from the place 

Round which revolve the endless worlds in space. 

Said Jesus to the ten : "Sit here and wait, 

Whilst I before the altar meditate." 2615 

The two, the Sons of Thunder, James and John, 

He took with him a little further on ; 

And he began, in contemplation tense, 

To be abstracted from the world of sense. 

He whispered to the twain : "Stay where ye are, 2620 

And watch with sleepless eyes yon gleaming star — 

Initiation's holy star, which sheds 

Its consecrating rays upon our heads — 

While to the altar I proceed alone, 

To bow before the Pole-star's lofty throne ; 2625 

For now my soul, as at the hour of death, 

Is isolated in the cosmic Breath." 

Then to the altar he advanced, and there 

Alone he breathed the holy stellar Air. 

When he returned, he found the two asleep, Mk. xiv. 37-45 

And said to them: "Awake! Could ye not keep 2631 

The Gateway of the Star for one short hour? 

Watch, then, and do not fail the holy Power : 

My spirit to the Pole-star wings its way ; 

Restrain it not, O feeble form of clay!" 2635 

Again he left them, and returning found 

That they by slumber's viewless chains were bound ; 

So he awakened them, and bade them gaze 

Unsleepingly upon the Star whose rays 

Give guidance unto all who in the night 2640 

Of mortal life would keep their course aright 



226 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

While sailing o'er that sea whose further strand 

Borders the bright, imperishable land. 

Then he the third hour of the watch remained 

Before the altar, and the Star attained. 2645 

But finding his disciples had not kept 

Their eyes upon the Star, but both had slept, 

He said : "Are ye two wielders of the wands 

Yourselves entangled now in Slumber's bonds, 

And taking rest, whilst I, your Master, toil 2650 

To burst the bonds of Death that round me coil ? 

Sleep never lays his opiate hands on me, 

And soon from Death himself I shall be free. 

Mine hour has come. Arise, let us depart : 

Behold, the brother dearest to my heart 2655 

Has come to hand me over to my foes, 

The priests who seek my death ; for well he knows 

That when upon the cross I have been bound, 

Among the deathless Gods I shall be crowned." 

E'en as he spoke, came Judas with a band 2660 

Of low-browed louts, who by the priests' command 

Were come, with swords and cudgels armed, to seize 

The crownless King; while in the rear of these 

Followed the priests themselves, who had arranged 

Thus to be safe if blows should be exchanged. 2665 

Judas has given them a strange device, 

A token, saying : "He whom I kiss thrice, 

That is the man. Seize him, and lead him hence, 

With gentle hands, avoiding violence." 

To Jesus now he came, and said to him, 2670 

u O Master, Master !" and his eyes were dim 

With tears that were in bitter sorrow shed ; 

Three times he fondly kissed him. Jesus said : Matt. xxv. 50 

"Weep not, my brother : thou hast done this deed 

That I from Death's dominion may be freed." 2675 

And then the mob of mindless ruffians, urged 

By priests behind, upon the Master surged, 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 227 

And seized him. Said he to the priests and knaves Lk. xxii. 52, 53 
Surrounding him : "Come ye with swords and staves 
To capture me, as if ye sought to take 2680 

One before whom your craven spirits quake- 
Some stalwart bandit whom your tetrarch fears, 
A Herakles with bruised and swollen ears ? 
When in the temple for the past three days 

I taught the way of Light, ye dared not raise 2685 

Your hands against me ; but 't is now your hour, 
The dead of night, when ye have demon-power." 
And now the twelve deserted him, and night Mk. xiv. 50-52 

Its black veil threw o'er their inglorious flight ; 

Save Judas only, who had wildly flung 2690 

His arms about his neck, and closely clung 
To him, beseeching him that at his side 
He might remain and e'en be crucified 
Along with him. A man of mighty frame, 

An athlete trained, was Judas ; and he came 2695 

That night with but a veil of linen wrapped 
About his loins and fastened. So it happed 
That when the knaves tried rudely to unclasp 
His arms from Jesus, with a wrestler's grasp 

He seized them right and left, and each his length 2700 

Measured upon the ground. The manly strength 
Of Judas fused the force of warriors ten, 
And though the knaves themselves were lusty men, 
They seemed like boys who in palaestra flout 

A full-grown man, who tosses them about 2705 

With scarce an effort. But the sindon worn 
About his loins was now from Judas torn 
By them who clutched it : leaving them the girth, 
He strode away, as naked as at birth. 

Jesus they led away to one installed Mk. xiv. 53-59 

As their chief -priest ; and presently they called 271 1 

A council of the priests and doddering 
Gray-bearded men — such are supposed to bring 



228 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Ripe wisdom into councils, as if age, 

In body only, constitutes a sage. 2 7 I 5 

Now, Simon, when he fled, ran in advance, 

And reached before the rest the chief-priest's manse ; 

And he was sitting by a fire that burned 

Within the quadrangle : quite unconcerned 

His bearing was, as at the genial blaze 2720 

He warmed himself, opining none would gaze 

At him thus mingled with the common crew 

Of lookers-on and servants there in view. 

The priest presiding, and the council vile, 

Past-masters all in priestly craft and guile, 2 7 2 5 

Sought evidence, that they might justify 

Sentence of death on Jesus, yet comply 

With laws that even priests could not ignore. 

But evidence was lacking : many swore 

To falsehoods that were obvious, bald and bold, 2730 

Yet so conflicting that the chief-priest told 

These worthless witnesses to stand aside. 

Then others, quite as shameless, testified 

To partial truths, distorted, saying thus : 

"We heard this man say boastfully to us, 2 735 

T shall destroy this temple made with hands, 

And in three days shall build, where now it stands, 

Another temple, lifting every stone 

Into its place by magic power alone.' " 

These witnesses, however, were so vain 2 ?4° 

Of their inventiveness that none would deign 

To listen to the others : so, indeed, 

No two of them essentially agreed. 

The chief-priest, rising, said to Jesus then: Mk. xiv. 60, 61 

"Sir, having heard what these most truthful men 2 745 

Have said against you, can you now refute 

Their testimony?" Jesus, standing mute, 

Made no reply to him. The chief-priest masked 

His malice, and with oily deference asked : 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 



229 



"Thou art the King Immortal, art not thou, 2 75° 

Whose crown the Gods have placed upon thy brow ?" 

And Jesus answered him : "With thine own breath Matt. xxvi. 

Thou sayest that I am King of Life and Death." 64-66 

The chief-priest's visage flamed an angry red ; 

His fingers plucked at his gray beard and head, 2 755 

And tore his tunic open at the breast. 

Said he : "Now that he has his guilt confessed, 

What need of other witnesses have we ? 

He arrogates divine authority, 

And seeks to reign, as ye have heard him tell, 2760 

On earth, in heaven, and over deepmost hell, 

Making himself a God of Gods sublime. 

What penalty, think ye, befits his crime?" 

As with one voice the council made reply : 

"A man who thus blasphemes deserves to die !" 

The men who guarded Jesus made the court Lk. 

A theatre for farce, in childish sport 

Blindfolding him; and then in turn each lout 

Buffeted him, and said : "O Seer, speak out, 

And say who struck you, telling us his name, 

That we your proven seership may proclaim." 

As Simon sat without, beside the fire, 

A girl who in the household worked for hire 

Drew near and gazed at him with sharp young eyes. 

She said to him: "Your face I recognize; 2 77$ 

You 're one of those conspirators who cling 

To Jesus and assert that he 's their king." 

But he denied, and said : "I know him not, 

And never heard before of any plot 

To make him king." And rising he withdrew 2780 

Into the shadowy porch. Then loudly crew 

A cock, at hint of dawn. Again the maid 

Approached, and his identity betrayed, 

Saying to all the men who stood around : 

"Here 's one of Jesus' followers I found 2785 



2765 
xxii. 63, 64 



2770 



2 3 o THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Lurking within the yard ; and now he slinks 

Into the darkest shadows, where he thinks 

He '11 not be noticed." Simon, as before, Matt. xxvi. 72-74 

Denied it, and to satisfy her swore 

A solemn oath, presuming to invoke 2790 

The blessed Gods to witness that he spoke 

The simple truth. A little after this 

Those present said to him with emphasis : 

"Fellow,- you 're surely one of them. We know 

Because your high-flown speech alone would show 2 795 

That you 're not one of us." And he began 

To curse and swear : "In very truth that man 

To me 's an utter stranger." Then the cock, 

Flapping its pinions, crew, as if to mock 

The recreant disciple. Simon heard, Mk. xiv. 72 

And to his mind returned the pregnant word 2801 

Spoken by Jesus at the feast, "Ere twice 

The cock shall crow, thou shalt deny me thrice." 

And as his mind upon the meaning dwelt 

His bitter tears betrayed the grief he felt. 2805 

The priests, ringleaders in the vile intrigue, Mk. xv. 1-5 

With all the sapient old men in their league 

Who joined the council, sharing in their shame, 

A consultation held, when morning came : 

Jesus they bound with chains, to make pretence 2810 

Of guarding well a man of violence ; 

Then carrying him, and giving him the shape 

Of one who strongly struggles to escape, 

They took him to the tetrarch, and they said : 

"This is the man who claims that on his head 2815 

The royal crown should rest. He should be tried 

And for his treason should be crucified ; 

For even now he heads a host of men." 

The tetrarch asked him : "Thou art truly, then, 

'King of the Starry Realm' ?" And answering, 2820 

Said Jesus : "Thou hast said that I am King 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 231 

Not over men, but over hosts of stars : 

The heavens are mine, although through prison bars 

Mine eyes behold them." Then the priests unloosed 

Their venomous tongues, and shamefully traduced 2825 

The crownless King : with snaky, hissing breath, 

Him they accused of crimes deserving death. 

But Jesus gave no sign, and spoke no word. 

To him the tetrarch said : "Now thou hast heard 

The many accusations which are made 2830 

By all these godly priests who are arrayed 

Against thee, why dost thou not answer them ? 

Thou knowest that 't is thyself I must condemn 

To death if thou canst not by words disprove 

Their charges." But his warning failed to move 2 §35 

The Master, who in silence at him gazed, 

Whereat the tetrarch greatly was amazed. 

This day began the Feast of Flowers-, the one Mk. xv. 6-9, 1 1-15 

In honor of the all-victorious Sun, 

The Lamb with Golden Fleece, who is pursued 2840 

By wolves of night, and whom the hateful brood 

Of sombre powers bind to the Cross of Spring 

In vain attempt to slay the Solar King, 

Who conquers them and frees from Winter's chains 

The queenly Earth ; and custom so ordains 2845 

That at this feast a prisoner be freed. 

He, whoso 't is, for whom the people plead, 

Is given his freedom. So the rabble came 

Unto the tetrarch, shouting out the name 

Of him they favored : "Jesus ! Jesus ! Free 2850 

Jesus from chains ; for all of us agree 

That he deserves his freedom." Unto them 

The tetrarch said : "I did but now condemn 

This would-be king to death : your priests devout 

Have proved him guilty, past a shade of doubt, 2855 

Of heinous crimes ; and yet you now demand 

That he be given his freedom at my hand !" 



232 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

The crowd, for answer, roared in unison : 

"Away with him, for he is not the one ! 

Let Jesus surnamed Time-born be unbound, 2860 

With praise of whom the very heavens resound. " 

This Jesus Time-bound, who in prison lay, 

Was under sentence with his life to pay 

For crimes he had committed. He had nursed 

A mad ambition to become the first 2865 

Among all men : desiring power and pelf, 

And having love for no one save himself, 

He had rebelled against the Powers that rule 

All humankind ; with scorn and ridicule 

He had denied the Gods, and had inveighed 2870 

Against the Law whose faultless scales had weighed 

His flagrant crimes. In truth, this Son of Time 

Had stained his soul with every vice and crime 

Named by the priests when they had falsely sworn 

Against the crownless King, the Heaven-born. 2875 

Unto the crowd the tetrarch said : "Ye claim 

The freedom of that other man whose name 

Is also Jesus. But I am not loth, 

Seeing their names are like, to free them both." 

But, prompted by the priests, the rabble cried : 2880 

"Nay ; let the 'Starry King' be crucified ! 

Give him to us, that he may be our king 

During the feast — a royal offering 

Unto the Gods, a crowned and sceptred one, 

Bound on his cross, as if he were the Sun." 2885 

And so the Son of Time, who like a beast 

Crouched in Delusion's prison, was released : 

The self unreal, that had with phantoms toyed, 

Was freed at last — and vanished in the void ! 

But Jesus by the mob was led away, 2890 

A victim for their vernal holiday. 

Outside the judgment-hall the ribald crew Matt, xxvii. 27-32 

Made him a gazing-stock for all to view : 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 233 

Pretending that in Jesus they had found 

A king to rule their feast, they first unbound 2895 

His chains, and rudely from his person tore, 

And threw away, the garments that he wore, 

Replacing them with plaited flowers of Spring, 

And with a wreath of ivy crowned him king. 

In his right hand they put a vine-wrapped rod, 2900 

With pine-cone tipped, such as the beauteous God, 

The Twice-born Savior, robed in changeless youth, 

Who founded well the Mysteries on Truth, 

Bears as his mighty sceptre. Then the crowd 

Knelt down before him, and they cried aloud : 2 9°5 

"Hail, Dionysos, King of starry spheres, 

Judge of Mankind, and God of twice-born Seers !" 

Then circling round him in a frantic dance 

Each knave in turn before him would advance 

And with a thyrsos strike him on the head, 2910 

While all the mindless mob, the living-dead, 

Kept mocking him, as in a children's game, 

And jeering him, until the soldiers came, 

Bringing his cross. These led him to his fate ; 

And finding Simon crouching near the gate, 2 9 J 5 

Still mourning for his Master and his loss, 

Him they impressed, that he might bear his cross, 

For Simon towered like Atlas in his strength. 

Proceeding on their way, they came at length Mk. xv. 22, 25-27 

Unto a little hill ; 't was like a bowl 2920 

Inverted. For its rounded shape, this knoll 

Was called "The Skull." The third hour being past, 

They raised the cross, on which they had bound fast 

The form of Jesus, placing o'er his head 

A brief inscription of his crime ; it read : 2 9 2 5 

"The Lord of Life and Death, who proudly boasts 

That he is King of all the Starry Hosts." 

On the same cross with him, they crucified 

Two robbers, binding them on either side. 



234 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

The mob flocked round as if to play the part Mk. xv. 29-32 

Of odious vultures tearing at his heart : 2 93 J 

Wagging- their heads and holding them awry 

To view the King upon his cross raised high, 

At him they railed, thus saying : "Ha ! thou great 

And skilful master-builder who didst prate 2 935 

Of tearing down the temple, in thy craze, 

And then rebuilding it in three short days, 

As now upon the cross thy body dies 

Build for thyself another in the skies." 

Likewise the priests displayed their heavy wit : 2940 

Each one would quote an adage, making it 

The text of his discourse, as if he took 

A passage garbled from a sacred book, 

Saying : "Behold the Healer's dying throes ! 

'Physician, heal thyself,' the saying goes. 2 945 

Others he healed, and saved them from the grave ; 

But, strange to say, himself he can not save !" 

And : " 'Seeing is believing,' men assert. 

Xow let the Starry King his power exert 

To save himself, and from the cross come down, 2 95° 

That we may then have faith — and he, renown." 

The soldiers mocked him ; filling to the brim Mk. xv. 23 

A cup with wine, and offering it to him, 

They said : "If thou art Bakchos, God of Wine, 

Drink now this cup, for truly it is thine." ■ 2 955 

The malefactor hanging at his left, Lk. xxiii. 39-43 

Who had been crucified because of theft, 

Taunted him, saying: "If thou hast such powers, 

O King-magician, save thy life and ours." 

But he who, dying, at the right hand hung 2960 

Said to the knave : "Hold thy envenomed tongue ! 

'T was for our crimes they crucified us twain ; 

But him they hate because no sinful stain 

Sullies his soul, and they are murdering 

One who in Heaven is rightfully a King." 2965 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 



235 



2975 
xv. 40 



27, 28 
2981 



And turning unto him whose brow was wreathed 

With ivy, thus a prayer he softly breathed : 

"Lord Dionysos, when the Sire's decree 

Enthrones thee in thy Realm, remember me !" 

Him Jesus answered : "On this tree of death 970 

Unto the Gods this day we yield our breath ; 

Yet, of a truth, thou shalt with me this day 

Stand 'neath the Tree of Life whose leaves display 

The healing wisdom, and whose fruitage nods 

Twelvefold, within the Garden of the Gods." 

His mother and his sisters, mingling not Mk. 

With that insensate mob, yet near the spot, 

Looked on in silence ; for their fixed belief 

In his divinity subdued their grief. 

But many women, standing in the crowd, Lk. xxiii. 

Wept at the woful sight and wailed aloud. 

Said Jesus unto them : "Ye maidens fair, 

And mothers mild who mortal children bear, 

Weep not for me, whose final throes ye view ; 

For I among the Gods am born anew. 2 9&5 

Nay; save ye for yourselves your wealth of tears 

And for the children whom, for endless years, 

Ye clothe in flesh, and who, despite your pangs 

And mother-love, are fated to the fangs 

Of all-devouring Death; for mortal womb 

Is not the door to life, but to the tomb." 

The sixth hour ended ; then the Sun was shorn Mk. xv. 

Of his effulgent rays, and hung forlorn, 

Impaled on high ; and he was crowned instead 

With darkened rays, as he w r ere garlanded 

With piercing thorns. And so for three dread hours 

The earth was veiled in darkness, while the powers 

From chaos risen, the realm of endless night, 

Strove madly now to slay the Lord of Light. 

The ninth hour passed ; and then with mighty voice 3000 

That reached the Height and made the Gods rejoice, 



33< 



2990 

34, 38 
2995 



236 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Jesus cried out : "My Heavenly Father, thou 

Hast placed the promised crown upon my brow !" 

At his exultant cry the empyrean 

Resounded with a glad victorious paean : 3005 

The dense dark veil that hid the heavenly height 

Was torn away; the sombre powers of night 

Fled vanquished from the field of cosmic war; 

And now the Sun, immortal Conqueror, 

Whom all the Powers of Light with paeans praise, 3010 

Was crowned anew with crystal-golden rays. 

The master-builder, ere the day was done, Matt, xxvii. 57, 59-61 

Came and received the body of his son, 

Which from the cross he took, still ivy-crowned. 

A linen cloth, of purest white, he wound 3 OI 5 

About it ; in a tomb in rock recessed, 

Wherein had mortal ne'er been laid to rest, Lk. xxiii. 53 

He laid the Crucified, and all alone, 

With giant strength he rolled a mighty stone 

Unto the entrance, safely closing thus 3020 

The tomb against all mortals impious. 

The Master's mother, and his sister whom 

He 'd saved from sin, were seated near the tomb ; 

And in the twilight, lingering, they stayed, 

Watching the place where they had seen him laid, 3° 2 5 

Departing only when the sky was strewn 

With stars and brightened by the brilliant moon. 

The third day after, when the misty dawn Mk. xvi. 1-3 

Over the eager east a veil had drawn 

Of filmy opalescence, they returned 3030 

Unto the tomb of him for whom they yearned, 

Bringing sweet-scented oil wherewith they might 

Anoint his body as the last sad rite. 

As they drew near the tomb, the star of morn 

Was fading, and the Sun, the Heaven-born, 3°3S 

Showed in the east his gleaming diadem 

As mounting toward his throne he greeted them, 



THE CROWNING OF JESUS 237 

Blessing the scene with his life-giving breath 

Till flamed with living gold the House of Death. 

They, gazing at its entrance with dismay, 304° 

Were saying : "Who shall roll for us away 

That massive boulder?" For they did not share 

The godlike strength of him who placed it there. 

E'en as they spoke, the Earth, parturient, Matt, xxviii. 2 

Quivered until the solid rocks were rent : 3045 

The stone was rolled away, and when the strife 

Of elements had ceased, the House of Life— 

For such the tomb had now become in truth — 

Was open, and within they saw a youth, Mk. xvi. 4-6 

Perfect in manly beauty, though his face 305° 

And form showed likewise woman's every grace. 

Ensphered was he in glory like the Sun ; 

His raiment, on the lightning's distaff spun 

And woven by the stars on Heaven's loom, 

Filled with a dazzling light that cavern-tomb. 3°55 

Unto the women, who stood wondering, 

This sun-rayed God, this Conqueror and King, 

Anointed, crowned, immortal, softly said : 

"Come ye in sorrow to anoint your dead, 

The Crucified? Behold me ! I am he— 3060 

His risen Self, now deathless, crowned, and free." 

Thus ends the story of the Seer whose name, 

Now known as Jesus, has become enshrined 
In many million hearts since he became 

One of the sun-robed Saviors of mankind. 3065 

What matters it that ne'er on earth he trod, 

And ne'er was crucified ? He lives for aye 
A hero who became the Solar God, 

Lord Dionysos, in a Mystery-play. 
Among mankind a few in every age 3070 

Have conquered self, and through that conquest died 



238 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

To every sin, as on the sacred stage 

The hero of this play was crucified; 
And they, as well, have risen from the dead, 

Arrayed in shining vesture like the sun 3°75 

When o'er the earth its brightest beams are shed — 

A crowned Dionysos, every one, 
A twice-born Seer and Savior. But they ask 

No servile worship. From the world zvithdrawn, 
Yet watching o'er mankind, theirs is the task 3080 

Of guiding souls that seek the mystic Dawn. 



SELECTIONS FROM THE 
FOURTH GOSPEL 

Note. — The Gospel according to John, in its present form, can 
only be regarded as a mystical romance. It may have been written 
originally by a Neo-Platonist who was more or less versed in the 
true Mysteries; but it has been "overworked" and "historicized" 
into a crude harmony with the Synoptic Gospels. In details, how- 
ever, it often conflicts with the Synoptics, though no more so than 
they conflict one with another; and whenever it speaks of Jewish 
customs or Palestinian geography it is almost invariably incor- 
rect. As in the case of the Synoptics, the forger, or forgers, who 
overworked it had but little information relating to the Jews and 
no knowledge of the Hebrew tongue. As a pseudo- version of the 
Iesous-mythos, it is distinctly inferior to the fuller text of the 
Synoptics, and a translation of the whole of it would therefore 
serve no useful purpose here. But it contains passages of great 
power and beauty, which in their profound meaning are comple- 
mental to the teachings found in the Synoptic allegory, though ex- 
pressed in a different form and evidently drawn from another 
source. A few of these characteristic passages are here presented, 
freely paraphrased : a close translation would be almost unintel- 
ligible to the reader who is unacquainted with the Neo-Platonic 
philosophy, and even misleading if the translator were to follow 
slavishly the Greek text as it now reads after passing through the 
hands of the ignorant Christian priests who mutilated it. 

Chapter i. 1-14, 16, 18 

The divine Thought inhered in the primordial Element, 
And proximate to the Unmanifested God was this divine Thought; 
And verily the divine Thought was the secondary God : 



240 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

In the primordial Element, proximate to the Unmanifested, was 
this manifested God. 
Through him was emanated the vast Universe, 
And not one single thing was emanated save through him. 
That which has been emanated in him was Life as pure quint- 
essence, 
And the Life was the Light of the eternal Men. 

The Light shines forth in the chaotic Darkness, 
And the Darkness can not grasp or hold it back. 

There appeared a Seer — Ioannes was his name — 

Who was the Messenger of the Manifested God : 
For witness he came, to bear witness about the Light, 
That through him all might walk the shining path. 

He himself was not the Light of the divine Thought, 

But he was sent to bear witness of the Light. 

That was the true Light which lights every man coming into the 

world. m 

He was in the world, and the world was emanated through him, 

And yet the world of mortals had no knowledge of him : 

To abodes that are his own he came, but they who are his own 
received him not. 
But as many as received him he empowered to become Sons of God, 
Sons who are not born, as mortals are, of human parents, 

Neither from woman's body nor from man's desire, 

But of the Manifested God's all-potent will. 

Thus in the Seer the divine Thought incarnates as the indwelling 

Self; 
And Seers behold his haloed form, Beauty and Truth embodied — 

The effulgence of the Self-born, whose Father is himself. 

Of his effulgence every Seer receives, beauty ever imaging beauty. 
Forever invisible remains the Unmanifested God; 
The Son, self-born from the World-Mother's womb, 

Alone can make Him known to mortal man ; 

And to this Manifested God Ioannes bears witness. 



SELECTIONS FROM THE FOURTH GOSPEL 241 

COMMENTARY 

The cosmogony briefly outlined in the prologue is the same as 
that which underlies every ancient religious system worthy of con- 
sideration. The universe emanates from the primordial substance 
through the power of divine ideation. The common rendering, 
"in the beginning," is erroneous and really meaningless : for archc 
here signifies, not "beginning," but "origin," the Archeus, or first 
element from which the universe is evolved ; and as the universe is 
ever evolving as an expression of divine ideation, it has no begin- 
ning or ending, in an absolute sense. True, the English word "be- 
ginning" may be taken in the sense of "coming into existence," but 
it can not well be given that meaning here ; the "authorized" version 
in this, as in the first sentence of Genesis, conforms to the crude 
theological notion that a personal God made the universe, a notion 
originating in the dark ages of Christianity, before modern think- 
ers had rediscovered the evolutionary principle in nature. The 
theory of evolution is basic in ancient religion. As set forth in the 
prologue to the Fourth Gospel, the Logos is the abstract Thought, 
which becomes formulated as the Idea, or mental image, and then 
as the Word, or externalized expression of the Idea: figuratively, 
the Universe is spoken into existence. Similarly, the Life within the 
Logos, that is, the vivifying power of the Thought, becomes ob- 
jectivized as Light, the illuminating principle of the uttered Idea. 
This Light is identical with the Pneuma, and being regarded as a 
female principle it was also called the "Daughter of the Logos." 
As manifested in man, it is the potency (dynamis) conferring the 
faculty of seership. The chaos, dark and turbid, is the residuum 
of preceding world-periods. The common version, "The darkness 
comprehended it not," is a mistranslation ; the figure is that of the 
Dragon of Darkness pursuing the Sun to devour it. 

Ioannes, a variant of Oannes, the Fish-god, personifies the psychic 
consciousness as the forerunner of the noetic. Oannes, who was 
represented as having the head and arms of a man with the body 
and tail of a fish, was fabled to spend his days on the earth and to 
withdraw at night into the great sea. The sea, or "great deep," is 



242 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

mystically the psychic world. In sleep the consciousness passes 
from the objective to the psychic plane. A man who has correlated 
the waking consciousness with that of the subjective states never 
"sleeps," in the ordinary sense of the word, when his physical body 
is taking its rest, since there is no suspension of consciousness; 
neither does he have chaotic and meaningless dreams or useless vi- 
sions. Cannes is thus the type of the psychic stage of development. 
Dionysos, however, represents the spiritual degree of initiation, that 
of the true Seer who has been "born from above." 

The Logos comprises the collective host of the eternal "Men," the 
spiritual Selves of humanity. The man who receives his true Self 
becomes, when perfected, a self-born Initiate; hence the Initiates 
were termed "Men," as distinguished from the profane, the living- 
dead, who have not yet reached the true human stage. The term 
monogenes, in the vocabulary of the solar cult, did not mean "only- 
begotten," but signified "born from one parent only." Here it is 
descriptive of men reborn in the solar body, which is mystically 
said to be formed of the flesh of the Logos, who is symbolized by 
the Sun ; the soul of the perfected man is vestured, not in the gross 
elements of this earth, but in the finer elements pertaining to the 
Sun. It is in this sense that Iesous is represented as saying (vi. 
56), "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I 
in him." The symbolic apportioning of his flesh and blood among 
his disciples at the "Last Supper" holds the same meaning. 

The statement in verse 14 that "we beheld his glory" would be 
untrue if "we" did not refer to those only who have the faculty* of 
seership. The text has evidently been "historicized" to make out 
that all the disciples beheld the "glory" of Iesous. Verses 15 and 17 
are clearly interpolations, breaking in on the sense and dragging 
in the pseudo-Jewish "historical" fraud. In verse 18 the Son is 
said to be "in the bosom of the Father" ; but this appears to be a 
theological emendation ; for Koktros is used for "womb" as well as 
"lap" or "bosom," and the solar body is formed in the matrix of 
the "World-Mother." The early Christians had a fanatical preju- 
dice against women; they converted the Pneuma into a masculine 
principle, and though the "Virgin Mary" was at first held to be a 



SELECTIONS FROM THE FOURTH GOSPEL 243 

sort of Goddess, the reformers dethroned her and made her out to 
be quite an ordinary mortal. But in the Fourth Gospel women fig- 
ure more prominently than they do in the Synoptics, and its charac- 
teristic features seem to have been borrowed from the Mysteries 
of Demeter, "the Mother of the Beautiful Child," as she was called 
in the Thesmophoria, or mystic cult of the women of Athens. 

Chapter ii. i-io 

On the third day of the Mysteries of the Mother of the Glorious 
Child, the rite of the mystic Marriage was celebrated. And Iesous, 
the worthy candidate, was there with his disciples. . . . And when 
the wine had failed, the Mother said to him : 

"They have now no wine." 

Iesous said to her : 

"Revered one, what would you have me do? My hour to be re- 
born has not yet come." . . . 

Said the Mother to the servers : 

"Do whatever he may tell you." 

Now, there were six water-jugs of stone in place there. Iesous 
said to the servers : 

"Fill the jugs with water." 

And they filled them to the brim. Again he said to them : 

"Draw out now from the sixth jug and fill the wine-cup, and 
bring it to the director of the banquet." 

They did so, and brought the cup. And the director of the ban- 
quet tasted the contents of the cup, and perceived that the water 
had been changed into wine. Then said he : 

"Men usually serve the good wine first, following it with the 
weaker sort if the guests have drunk too freely; but you have kept 
the strong wine till the last." 

COMMENTARY 

The Thesmophoria, or Mysteries of Demeter and Persephone, 
celebrated by matrons, assisted by a priest and a band of virgins, 
lasted three days; one of the ceremonies was the dramatic per- 
formance of a symbolic marriage. The festival on the third day 



244 



THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 



was called KaWiyiveia, for Demeter, "the Mother of the Glorious 

Child." The account of the proceedings on "the third day," as 

given in the Gospel, is obviously incomplete: the marriage itself is 

,...- barely mentioned, the 



bride and the bride- 
groom are not named, 
the conversation be- 
tween Iesous and the 
Mother is discon- 
nected and obscure, 
and in the text the 
wine-cup is only indi- 
rectly referred to. It 
is clear that the story 
has been much cur- 
tailed in the interest 
of "history," practi- 
cally nothing but the 
"miracle" having been 
preserved, and even 
that not escaping 
mutilation. Although 
Iesous is brought in 
merely as one of the 
invited guests, his 
feat of turning the 
water into wine shows 
that he is in fact the 
candidate for initia- 
tion, and that he is, 
bridegroom" of the mystic union. The director 




Demeter 



therefore, the 

of the banquet is the Hierophant, or Initiator, personifying the 
Self. The six water-jugs stand for six of the chakras, and the 
wine-cup for the seventh. This cup is the sacred wine-cup of 
the Sun-God. The changing of the water into wine signifies the 
transition from the psychic to the spiritual state of consciousness. 



SELECTIONS FROM THE FOURTH GOSPEL 245 

So closely were the secrets of the Thesmophoria guarded that 
nothing is known with certainty concerning the rites on the third 
day. Some modern authorities doubt that the "sacred marriage" 
was performed in these Mysteries, and question whether any but 
women were allowed to take part in, or even be present at, the rites 
at any stage of the proceedings. But there is evidence that men did 
participate in the ceremonies ; and images of Dionysos, Demeter and 
Persephone were kept in the temple at Athens where the rites were 
celebrated. With the Greeks the mystic union was so inseparably 
associated with the sacred Mysteries that ordinary marriage came to 
be regarded as a sort of initiation. In the Greek and the Roman 
Catholic church marriage is still regarded as a sacrament, the Greek 
church including it among the "seven sacraments." Christianity 
thus perpetuates a mere popular superstition ; whereas with the wise 
"pagans" of old the "sacred marriage" symbolized the union of the 
initiate's purified lower nature with his immortal Self. 

"Cana of Galilee," where this miracle is said to have been per- 
formed, belongs exclusively to the geography of the Fourth Gos- 
pel, and is as unhistorical as the miracle itself. 

Chapter hi. 1-12; xn. 36 

An exoteric priest, Nikodemos by name, one of the class who rule 
the people in matters of religious belief, came to Iesous by night 
and said to him : 

"Master of Wisdom, how can a man gain entrance to the divine 
Realm?" 

Iesous answered him : 

"Truly I say to you, A man can not enter into the divine Realm 
until he has been born from above." 

Said the religious ruler to him : 

"How can a man be born when he is old ? Can he return to his 
mother's womb and be born anew?" 

Iesous answered : 

"A man can not enter into the divine Realm until he has been 
born of Water and of Air. He who is born of woman's womb is 
clothed in mortality ; but he who is born of the World-Mother, the 



246 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

supernal Air, is robed in immortality. The air blows where it wills, 
and you hear its voice, but you know not whence it comes nor where 
it goes. So, likewise, you know not the divine origin or the future 
destiny of the Immortals who have been born of the supernal Air." 

Said to him the priest : 

"How, then, can this second birth be attained?" 

Iesous said to him : 

"Are you a religious teacher of the people, and have no know- 
ledge of the sacred Mysteries? What we, the Initiates, know, we 
are willing to impart, and to bear witness to glories that only Seers 
behold; but you, in the false pride of lifeless learning, accept not 
our testimony. Ever from times remote we have handed down to 
you the noble truths of philosophy, but you have misinterpreted and 
misapplied them : how, then, were I to reveal to you the mystery 
of the new birth, would you understand the teaching, and strive 
rightly to become a Son of the Light?" 

COMMENTARY 

Nikodemos, a common Greek name, signifies "Conqueror of the 
People" ; and this little story satirizes the ignorance of the priests 
(the "Pharisees" of the falsified text) who domineer over the 
common people and dictate to them in everything that relates to 
religion. The priestly Nikodemos could not have been more densely 
ignorant of spiritual truths if he had lived in modern days and had 
received the degree of Doctor of Divinity. Iesous uses the word 
anothen in its proper sense, "from above," that is, "from a divine 
source," but Nikodemos ignorantly takes it to mean "over again." 
In verse u Iesous speaks in the plural as "we," thus including him- 
self with the Initiates, the Twice-born. 

The initiates were said to descend into the earth and to be reborn 
therefrom. Hesiod bids the Muses "Sing the holy race of Immor- 
tals, ever existing, who from Earth were born and born from Starry 
Heaven." The Muses, the daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne, God- 
dess of Memory, were supposed to inspire men to the "fine frenzy" 
of genius and of seership. In the Mysteries the soul of the candi- 
date had to descend into the underworld before it could attain the 



SELECTIOXS FROM THE FOURTH GOSPEL 247 

new birth: mystically, the candidate died and was then reborn. In 
the Eleuthernse tablet the soul is represented as saying, on its arrival 
at the other world: "I am parched with thirst and I perish." It is 
answered : "Nay, drink of me, the well-spring flowing forever at the 
right, where the Cypress is. Who art thou? Whence art thou?" 
The soul replies : "I am a son of Earth and of Starry Heaven." In 
the Petelia tablet, recently discovered, the soul says to the warders : 
"I am a child of Earth and of Starry Heaven. But my race is 
of Heaven alone. This ye know yourselves. And lo, I am parched 
with thirst and I perish. Give me quickly the cold water flowing 
forth from the Lake of Memory." 

The statement in verse 51 that any one who shall observe the 
secret doctrine will be free from death during the generative cycle 
(literally, "shall not see death throughout the aeon") is true in the 
sense that one who by self -purification becomes able to retain an 
unbroken memory between incarnations (drinking from the well- 
spring of Mnemosyne and not from that of Lethe) is really immor- 
tal even while his soul is still under the necessity of migrating from 
one mortal body to another. 

Chapter viii. 12-15, 23, 24, 51 

Said Iesous to the orthodox religionists : 

"The Light of the World am I ; he who goes with me shall never 
walk in the darkness, but shall have the Light of Life." 

They said to him : 

"You are bearing witness about yourself; your witness is not 
credible." 

Iesous answered : 

"Even if I am bearing witness about myself, my # witness is credi- 
ble, because I know my divine source and destination ; whereas you 
know not whence man comes or where he goes. You perceive only 
the external manifestations of life; and these are naught to me. 
For you are of this material world, and I am not of this material 
world. You are of the mortals; I am of the Immortals. Because 
of your sins you are born but to die, and die but to be born; and 
unless you believe that I Am, your sins will bind you forever to the 



248 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

wheel of birth and death. But of a truth I say to you, He who 
observes my arcane doctrine shall become free from death even 
while the generative cycle endures." 

COMMENTARY 

Iesous, personifying the Sun-God (the Logos or Nous), declares 
himself to be the Light of the World. Light here signifies spiritual 
wisdom, while darkness implies the lack of it. By basing their 
religious system upon faith — not the enlightened faith which springs 
from intuition, but the unreasoning credulity which ignorant dog- 
matists demand — the real founders of Christianity, the exoteric 
priests, caused their followers to ''walk in the darkness" and were 
mainly responsible for the period known in European history as 
the dark ages. 

In verse 23 "those below" (61 koltco) are the earthly men, the mor- 
tals, and "those above" (61 avco) are the divine men, the Immor- 
tals. The mortals are passing through the cycle of reincarnation in 
the illusion of Time; the Immortals are free, dwelling in the Eter- 
nal, the "I Am," that ever-present which knows neither past nor 
future. 




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444 
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(The Key of the Sacred Science) 



INTRODUCTION TO THE INITIATION 
OF IOANNES 

In the following introductory analysis it will be shown that the 
Apocalypse is a coherent whole, symmetrical, and having every de- 
tail fitted into its appropriate place with studied care. In its or- 
derly arrangement and concise statement the book is a model of 
precise literary workmanship. But it contains a series of elaborate 
puzzles, some of which are based upon the numerical values of cer- 
tain Greek words, thereby serving to verify the correct interpreta- 
tion of the more important symbols ; and as the detailed explanation 
of these in the analysis would interrupt the interpretation of the 
book as a whole, for the sake of clearness the solution of these puz- 
zles will here be given in advance. 

In the Apocalypse four animal-symbols or beasts (theria) are 
conspicuous dramatis personce: (i) a Lamb (or "little Ram," 
arnion), having seven horns and seven eyes, and who is identified 
as Iesous, who becomes "the Conqueror"; (2) a beast resembling 
a Leopard, with a bear's feet and a lion's mouth, and having seven 
heads and ten horns ; (3) a red Dragon, having seven heads and ten 
horns, and who is "the Devil and Satan"; and (4) a beast having 
two horns like a Lamb but speaking like a Dragon, and who is called 
the Pseudo-Seer, or false teacher (pseudo-prophetes) . Of these 
four the Leopard is particularly referred to as "the Beast"; and 
concerning him the Apocalyptist says : 

"Here is cleverness (sophia) : he who has the Xous, let him 
count the number of the Beast; for it is the number of a man, and 
his number is 666." 

The "cleverness" of this puzzle lies in its very simplicity; for the 
words "the Nous" (6 vovs), the familiar term in Greek philosophy 
for the higher mind or man, naturally suggest the correct answer, 
the Phren (rj (frprjv), the cognate term for the lower mind or 




1000 Ho Nikon, "The Conqueror" 
999 Epistemon, Intuitively Wise 
888 lesous, the Higher Mind 

I. "The Lamb " 
777 Stauros, the Cross 



666 He Phren, the Lower Mind 
II. "The Beast " 



555 Epithumia, Desire 

III. "The Red Dragon" 



444 Speirema, the Serpent-coil 
333 Akrasia, Sensuality 
IV. "The False Seer " 



The Gnostic Chart Concealed in the Apocalypse 



1. The Conqueror 
(ho nikon ) 

. 70 
. 50 
. 10 
. 20 
. 800 
. 50 

1,000 



2. Intuitively Wise 
(epistemon ) 



e 

7T 

I 

(TT 

V 

O) 
V 



5 

80 

10 

6 

8 

40 

800 

50 

999 



The Higher Mind 
(Iesous ) 

10 

8 

200 

70 
400 
200 



4. The Cross 
(stauros ) 



err 
a 
v 

P 
o 

s 



6 

400 

100 

70 

200 

777 



5. The Lower Mind 
(he phren ) 



8 
500 
100 

8 
50 

666 



6. Desire 

(epithumia ) 



5 
80 
10 

9 

400 

40 

10 

1 

555 



7. The Serpent-coil 
(speirema ) 



200 

80 

5 

10 

100 

8 

40 

1 

444 



Incontinence 
(akrasia ) 



20 
100 

1 

200 

10 

1 



333 



(8.) Licentiousness 
(akolasia ) 



1 
20 
70 
30 

1 

200 

10 

1 

333 



The Numbers of the Names 



252 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

man. As numbers are expressed in Greek by the letters of the 
alphabet, and not by arithmetical figures, the number of a name is 
simply the sum of the numerical values of the letters composing it. 
Thus the numerical value of he phren is 666. If this were the 
whole of the puzzle, it would be almost puerile; but it is, in fact, 
only a part of, and the clue to, an elaborate puzzle, which in its en- 
tirety is remarkably ingenious. It will be noticed that the Beast, 
the phrenic mind, is the faculty ruling over one of the four somatic 
divisions, from which the natural inference is drawn that the three 
other beasts likewise are the regents of the three other somatic 
divisions. The Lamb, Iesous, would therefore stand for the high- 
est of these, the Nous. Now, the word Iesous gives the sum 888. 
The red Dragon, "the archaic serpent, who is the Devil and Satan," 
fits neatly into place as the ruler of the third somatic division, epi- 
thumia, which word yields the number 555. The fourth beast, the 
"False Prophet," takes his place in the fourth division as the gen- 
erative principle, akrasia, "sensuality," the number of his name 
being 333. Plato applies to this principle the word akolasia, which 
has the same meaning and the same numerical value. 

Placing these four names, with their numbers, in the form of a 
diagram of the four somatic divisions, it becomes apparent that the 
puzzle is still only partly solved, for evidently a complete series of 
numbers is intended. A space is left where the diagram, to fill out 
the meaning, requires the cross, and another space for the "good 
serpent," the regenerative force; the "bad serpent," the Devil, the 
lust for life which leads to generation, being already included. The 
number of the cross, stauros, is JJJ (the letters or being taken, of 
course, as g~ = 6) . The spiralling electric force, "the coil of the ser- 
pent," is the speirema, which word gives the number 444. Now, 
the action of this force upon the brain, where its triple current 
forms the cross, gives the noetic perception, direct cognition (the 
epistetne, or highest degree of knowledge, so beautifully defined by 
Plato), and to express this in the diagram it becomes necessary to 
insert the word epistemon, the philosophic equivalent for the word 
christos; its numerical value is 999. Further, he who has attained 



INTRODUCTION TO THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 253 

to this higher knowledge forthwith becomes the conqueror, and as 
"the Conqueror" is the hero, so to say, of the Apocalyptic Drama, 
his name must be placed at the head of the list, as ho nikon, w T ith 
its number, 1,000. 

The diagram thus completed makes clear the basic teaching of 
the Apocalypse, which treats of the speirema and its energizing 
through the vital centres as the Conqueror gains mastery over them 
and builds up for himself, out of that primordial substance, his im- 
mortal vehicle, the monogenetic or solar body. This deathless solar 
vesture is symbolized as a city which comes down out of the sky, 
enveloped in the radiance (doxa) of the God, and it is portrayed 
with poetic imagery of exquisite beauty. The description, with its 
wealth of detail, should be enough to show very clearly what the 
city really is; but Ioannes has supplied conclusive proof of the true 
meaning by inserting in the description a puzzle which reads as fol- 
lows : 

"The Divinity who was talking with me had for a measure a 
golden reed, to measure the city, its gateways, and its wall. The 
city lies foursquare, and its length is as great as the width. He 
measured the city with the reed, by stadia, twelve thousand ; its 
length, width and height are equal. And he measured its wall, one 
hundred and forty- four cubits, [including] the measure of a man, 
that is, of a Divinity." 

As the expression "by stadia" (eVl crraStW) shows that the 
measurement should not be taken in stadia, it naturally follows that 
it should be reduced to miles. Therefore, dividing 12,000 by jV 2 , 
the number of stadia to the Jewish mile, the quotient is 1,600, and 
this is the numerical value of the words to hcliakon soma, "the 
solar body." (The number 1,600 is found also in xiv. 20, where 
it has the same significance. ) In the authorized version the prepo- 
sition cpi, "by," is not translated, being omitted as redundant — 
which merely shows the untrustworthiness of an empirical transla- 
tion. That version also reads, "a hundred and forty and four cu- 
bits, [according to] the measure of a man, that is, of an angel," the 
inserted words making the passage meaningless. The "wall" of 



254 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

the solar body is its aura, or "radiance," he doxa; but the letters of 
that name amount to only 143. As a puzzle, that number would 
be too transparent, nor would it harmonize with the other numbers 
given in relation to the city, as the twelve thousand stadia, twelve 
gateways, twelve foundations, etc., all of which have a real or an 
apparent reference to the zodiac. Therefore Ioannes increased it 
to 144, the square of twelve, by adding another alpha, which he 
calls "the measure of a man, that is, of a Divinity." In the for- 
mula, "I am the Alpha and the [mega'], the first and the last," 
alpha is the symbol of the divine man, or Divinity, before his fall 
into matter; and mega is the symbol of the perfected man, who 
has passed through the cycle of reincarnation and regained the 
spiritual consciousness. 

The city is described as having the form of a cube. To solve 
this element of the puzzle it is only necessary to unfold the cube, 
thereby disclosing a cross, which represents the human form — a 
man with outstretched arms. 

Although Ioannes speaks of measuring "the city, its gateways, 
and its wall," he does not give the measure of the gateways, for the 
very obvious reason that it is wholly unnecessary, since the word 
"gateway" (pylon, from pyle, "an orifice") sufficiently indicates 
their nature : they are the twelve orifices of the body. In the Upani- 
shads the human body is often called poetically the twelve-gate city 
of God's abode. 

In literary construction the Apocalypse follows to some extent 
the conventional model of the Greek drama : although in narrative 
form, it divides naturally into acts, or scenes, in each of which the 
scenic setting is vividly pictured; and interspersed with the action 
are monologues, dialogues, and choruses. As a mere literary de- 
vice, these scenes are represented in a series of visions; and in this 
Ioannes has adopted the style of the Hebrew seers, from whom he 
obtained much of- the quaint symbolism, ornate imagery, and mys- 
tifying phraseology he artfully employs. But with the material 
obtained from this source Ioannes has skilfully combined symbols 
drawn from the pagan Greek and other arcana, weaving these ma- 



t 

V 


8 


T 


300 


8 


4 


O 


70 





70 


57 


8 


* 


60 


A 


30 


a 


1 


t 


10 


a 


1 


a 


1 




~144 


K 


20 









70 






V 


50 






a 


200 






0) 


800 






P 


40 






a 


1 




1,600 



7.5)12,000 €7ri<rTo8tW 

1 ,600 €7Tt /XlkliOV 



The Cubical City Unfolded 



256 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

terials into a harmonious whole, wonderfully systematic and com- 
plete, and having all the details worked out with painstaking 
exactness. Then, having thus darkly veiled his teachings by this 
symbolism, utterly baffling to the conventional symbologist, he has 
ingeniously supplied means for verifying the import of each of the 
principal symbols, and this he accomplished by word-numbers and 
other puzzles. 

By sentimental literalists the Apocalypse is generally accepted 
as a record of visions actually seen by "the Seer of Patmos," al- 
though it requires but little discrimination to perceive that the 
visionary style is merely an artifice of the Apocalyptist, adopted for 
the purpose of introducing the fabulous characters of his drama 
and mystifying his readers. It is only the psychics, the mystai 
or "veiled ones," who see symbolical visions. The true seer, the 
epoptes, beholds the things of nature and of supranature as they 
really are, and not as they seem: perceiving that all the forms and 
processes of external nature are themselves but the shadowy symbols 
of the eternal Ideas of the intelligible world, he passes beyond this 
fabric of material and psychic glamour, this veil by which the True 
is covered and concealed, and penetrates to the first principles of 
things, the archetypal, spiritual realities. 

A few of the technical words employed by the New Testament 
writers are fraudulent substitutes for terms used in older Greek. 
Thus angelos, "messenger," takes the place of the word daimdn, 
Deity in manifestation, including the hosts of lesser deities, powers 
and essences. Philon Judaios says (De Gigant., i. 253) that the 
beings called angels in the Mosaic writings are simply the daimones. 
As the anglicized word "angel" summons to the mind only the 
theological and popular conception of a celestial being whose func- 
tion in the universe is undetermined and dubious, angelos will in 
this work be rendered "Divinity," a word which covers in range 
of meanings the various significations of the Greek word. Simi- 
larly, apokalypsis, literally, "uncovering," "unveiling," is a substitute 
for epopteia, "beholding," a word technically denoting initiation 
into the greater mysteries. The Apocalypse is, as its title implies, 
an account of the initiation of Ioannes himself. In the subtitle 



INTRODUCTION TO THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 257 

he calls it "the Initiation of Anointed Iesous," that is, of his own 
illumined Xous, the "witness" for the universal Logos, as Ioannes 
in the material world, the "slave" (doulos) of the true Self, is the 
"witness" for the individual Logos. 

Many actors, apparently, play their parts in the drama of the 
Apocalypse; yet in reality there is but one performer — the neophyte 
himself, the sacrificial "Lamb," who awakens all the slumbering 
forces of his inner nature, passes through the terrible ordeals of 
the purificatory discipline and the telestic labors, and finally emerges 
as the Conqueror, the self-perfected Man who has regained his 
standing among the deathless Gods. He is the hero of, and the sole 
actor in, the drama; all the other dramatis persona? are only per- 
sonifications of the principles, faculties, forces, and elements of 
Man, that minor world so vast and mysterious, whose ultimate des- 
tiny it is to become coextensive with the divine and illimitable uni- 
verse. 

In the brief prologue to the drama, the Anointed Iesous, the 
illuminated Mind, is depicted as the first-born from the dead (the 
moribund inner faculties), the ruler of the lower powers, yet hav- 
ing been crucified by them on the cross of matter, the physical 
body. Now, at his coming, they who wounded him shall weep and 
wail over him. In the Nezv Testament allegory there are two cruci- 
fixions : one relating to the soul's descent into matter, the generation 
of the physical form, and the other to its ascent to spirit, or regen- 
eration in the solar body. 

Then, "in the Breath," that is, in samadhi, the sacred trance, 
Ioannes has a vision of the Logos, his own spiritual Self, in the 
self-luminous pneumatic body, of which he gives a magnificent de- 
scription, partly literal and partly symbolical. He sees him walk- 
ing to and fro among seven little lamp-stands, and holding in his 
right hand seven stars; announcing himself to be the ever-living 
Self, who became "dead" (incarnated), but is now alive through- 
out the aeons, the Logos explains that the lampstands are the "seven 
Societies in Asia," and the seven stars their Divinities. That is, 
they represent respectively the seven Rays of the Light of the 
Logos (his seven forces), and the seven centres or chakras in the 



258 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

body, through which they energize. Asia is the native land of 
Ioannes, therefore typifying the body, the home-land of the soul; 
and the seven Societies (groups or ganglia) are designated by the 
names of Asian cities, each of which, by some well-known charac- 
teristic or something for which it was noted, calls to mind the 
somatic centre it represents. These cities are given in the same 
order in the Apocalypse as are the chakras in the Upanishads, thus : 
( i ) Muladhara, sacral ganglion ; Ephesos, a city celebrated for its 
great temple of Diana, the "many-breasted mother," who appears 
in the Apocalypse as the ''Woman clothed with the Sun, the moon 
underneath her feet," the lunar goddess and the Apocalyptic hero- 
ine alike personifying the regenerative force, the sushumna, mys- 
tically called the "World-Mother." (2) Adhishthana, prostatic 
ganglion ; Smyrna, noted for the fig industry ; the fig is preemi- 
nently a phallic symbol. (3) Manipuraka, epigastric ganglion; 
Pergamos, celebrated for its temple of ^sculapius; the epigastric. 
or solar plexus, is the controlling centre of the vital processes of the 
body, and of the forces utilized in all systems of psychic healing. 
(4) Anahata, cardiac ganglion; Thyateira, a city noted for the 
manufacture of scarlet dyes; the name being thus a covert refer- 
ence to the blood and the circulatory system. (5) Vishuddhi, laryn- 
geal ganglion ; Sardeis, a name which suggests the sardion, sardine 
or carnelian, a flesh-colored stone, thus alluding to the laryngeal 
protuberance vulgarly termed "Adam's apple." (6) Ajiia, caver- 
nous ganglion ; Philadelpheia, a city which was repeatedly destroyed 
by earthquakes; the manifestation of the kundalini at this sixth 
centre is especially violent, and so Ioannes describes the opening of 
the sixth seal {muladhara, which brings the Ida and piugala to their 
culmination at this centre) as being accompanied by a "great earth- 
quake." (7) Sahasrara, conarium, or pineal body, the "third eye"; 
Laodikeia, noted for the manufacture of the so-called "Phrygian 
powder," which was esteemed a sovereign remedy for sore and 
weak eyes, presumably the "eye-salve" mentioned by Ioannes in the 
message to this seventh Society. 

To each of these Societies the Logos sends a message; and in 
these communications, which he dictates to Ioannes, the nature and 



INTRODUCTION TO THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 259 

function of each centre are indicated : a particular aspect of the 
Logos is presented to each one, a good and a bad quality being 
ascribed to each centre, and a reward or prize is promised, specify- 
ing the spiritual results accruing to "the Conqueror" from the con- 
quest of each chakra. 

In the next vision is shown the Logos enthroned in the sky, with 
his four septenary powers. Here Ioannes has constructed a simple 
little puzzle by employing redundant symbols and by inverting the 
order of the forces, enumerating the lesser ones first and the greater 
ones last. He places twenty- four Ancients ("elders") circling the 
throne, before which also are seven Breaths ("spirits") and a 
crystalline sea; after which he describes four Zoa ("living crea- 
tures"), each of whom has six wings. Yet he makes it clearly 
apparent, later, that the Zoa are superior to the Ancients and next 
in rank to the Logos. In fact, the four Zoa are the four manifested 
Powers of the Logos, the archetypes of the four "Beasts," whose 
nature, as the regents of the four somatic divisions, has already 
been explained. As these Zoa are septenates, they are said to have 
six wings each. These wings are identical with the twenty- four 
Ancients; and the seven Breaths before the throne are likewise 
identical with the highest septenate, the noetic Zoon. The seemingly 
complicated assemblage thus resolves itself simply into the Nous 
centred in the brain, with its four septenary powers; and the "glassy 
sea" is the ether pulsating in the mystic "eye" of the seer. For the 
"sky" in the Apocalypse is not the "heaven" of the profane, the 
celestial world supposed by them to be somewhere in the far depths 
of space. 

The four Zoa are the Lion, the Bull, the Man, and the Eagle. 
These symbols represent the four cardinal signs of the zodiac, con- 
stituting the so-called cross of the zodiac : Leo, Taurus, Aquarius 
(Waterman), and Scorpio. The constellation Aquila, the Eagle, 
though extra-zodiacal, rising at the- same time as Scorpio, is fre- 
quently substituted for it. The word zodiac (zodiakos) is derived 
from zodion, "a little animal," a diminutive form of zoon, "an 
animal." Hence, the zodiacal signs being called zodia, the four 
principal ones are the zoa. 



260 



THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 



A scroll ("book") is the next symbol introduced. It is simply 
the human body, esoterically considered : it is " written inside and at 
the back/' referring to the sympathetic and the cerebro-spinal sys- 
tems, and "close sealed with seven seals," which seals are the seven 
major chakras. The sacrificial Lamb, the neophyte who has attained 
to the intuitive, noetic consciousness — which is symbolized by his 
having seven horns and seven eyes, that is, mental powers of action 
and perception — opens the seals (arouses the chakras) successively. 
As they are opened, however, they change to zodiacal signs, the 
zodiac being applied to the microcosm, man, as shown in the dia- 
gram here presented, the man being depicted as lying in a circle, 
and not standing upright as in the exoteric zodiac. The seven 




The Apocalyptic Zodiac 



INTRODUCTION TO THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 261 

planets are assigned to the twelve signs of the zodiac in the order 
followed by Porphyrios, and, in fact, by all ancient and modern 
authorities. In Sanskrit works the planets are made to correspond 
also to the seven chakras in the following order, beginning with 
muladhara: Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, Mercury, Moon, and 
Sun. According to this zodiacal scheme, therefore, seven signs, 
with their planets, extend along the cerebro-spinal region, and corre- 
spond to the seven chakras, which are the focal centres of the tattvas, 
and have the same planets ; while the remaining signs pertain to the 
five pranas. This arrangement is shown more in detail in the table 
on the following page. 

When the Lamb opens one of the seals, one of the four Zoa thun- 
ders, "Come!" A white horse appears, its rider having a bow. 
This is Sagittarius, the Bowman or Archer. Ioannes thus starts 
the kiindalim current at the second chakra, and correctly so, for the 
sushumna does not energize until Ida and pingala have reached the 
forehead, and then it starts from the first centre, corresponding to 
the terminus of the spinal cord. He therefore avoids calling this 
the first seal, but says, "one of the seals," and then numbers the 
others merely in the order in which they are opened. 

The second seal being opened, the second Zoon says, "Come !" A 
red horse comes forth ; to its rider is given a great sword, and power 
to take away peace from the earth. This is Scorpio, the house of 
Mars, the War-God. 

Upon the opening of the third seal, the third Zoon says, "Come!" 
A black horse appears, its rider having a balance in his hand. This 
is Libra, the Balance. 

When the fourth seal is opened, the fourth Zoon says, "Come !" 
A "pale" (chloros, "yellowish") horse comes forth, and its rider is 
Death, accompanied by Hades ; they are given power over one quar- 
ter of the earth, to kill with sword, famine and death, and by the 
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INTRODUCTION TO THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 263 

widow," Virgo appears later in the Apocalyptic drama in the role 
of the Woman in scarlet, who is seated on the red Dragon, the 
epithumetic nature. But here she is associated with a higher centre 
which has to do with the psychic consciousness, and therefore 
Hades, the psychic realm, is said to ride with Death; and the evil 
thoughts, desires and passions of the psycho-physical consciousness 
devastate the earth to the extent that they dominate. 

The four horses, corresponding to the four Zoa, as also to the 
four beasts, are the four somatic divisions. 

The fifth seal opened is the cavernous ganglion, to which corre- 
sponds the sign Cancer. Although Leo precedes Cancer in the 
zodiac, its corresponding chakra, the conarium, is the last of the 
centres to be aroused ; for Ida and pingala branch out to right and 
left at the forehead, and it is only the sushiimna, starting at the 
sacral ganglion, that reaches the conarium. Yet the influence of 
the two currents, at this stage, causes a partial awakening of the 
lower centres in the brain; and this is stated by Ioannes in an 
ingenious little allegory about the uneasy ghosts ("souls") of those 
who had been sacrificed (atrophied, that is) because of the evidence 
they held. For it is by the atrophy of these noetic centres that man 
has lost the evidence of spiritual realities. 

The sixth seal opened is the sacral plexus, to which corresponds 
the sign Capricornus. When this chakra is awakened, the sushumna 
passes along the spinal cord and impinges upon the brain. Words 
can not adequately describe the sensations of the neophyte upon his 
first experience of the effects produced by this mighty power : it is as 
if the earth crumbled instantly to nothingness, and sun, moon and 
stars were swept from the sky, so that he suddenly found himself 
to be but an unbodied soul alone in the black abyss of empty space, 
struggling against dread and terror unutterable. Thus Ioannes 
vividly pictures it, in terms of cosmic phenomena, as a seismic cata- 
clysm, seemingly the end of the world. To the neophyte unprepared 
for this ordeal, failure may mean merely a short period of blank 
unconsciousness, or it may mean instant death — for this vital elec- 
tricity has all the destructiveness, when misdirected, of the thunder- 
bolt. The sixth centre, ajna, is the great "lunar" chakra, where the 



264 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

currents bifurcate; and at this point the resurgent "solar" forces, 
the pranas, form a cross in the brain. These solar forces Ioannes 
pictures as five Divinities, of whom four stand at the corners of the 
earth, presiding over the four winds, and a dominant Divinity, the 
fifth, bearing the signet-ring of the living God, ascends from the 
fifth direction of space, "the birthplace of the sun"— quite natu- 
rally, since he is in fact an aspect of that "Sun," the Nous. With 
his signet-ring he seals 144,000 out of the tribes of the children of 
Israel. The twelve tribes are simply the twelve zodiacal signs, sym- 
bolizing the twelve forces of the Logos, which differentiate into 
countless minor forces. These, in the microcosm, are the nadis of 
the Upanishads, which enumerate variously the nadis centring in 
the brain, but usually place the number at 72,000. Ioannes, how- 
ever, holds to the zodiacal scheme : as each of the signs of the zodiac 
is subdivided into twelve minor signs, he multiplies these by 1,000 
—a number often used in mystical writings to express an indefinite 
term— and so arrives at a total of 144,000, or double the 72,000 of 
the Upanishads; but according to the latter the nadis are innumer- 
able in their ramifications. 

After this is seen a great multitude, from all nations and peoples 
of all languages, white-robed and pure, who wave palm-branches 
and sing a paean before the throne ; they are said to be those "com- 
ing out of the great ordeal." This "great ordeal" is reincarnation, 
the vast misery of being bound for ages to the wheel of birth. But 
this concourse of the "redeemed" who sing the chorus in this scene 
are the liberated elements in the aspirant's own nature ; they are not 
a throng of people exterior to him. By evoking the marvellous 
potencies of his spiritual selfhood the Conqueror thereby regermi- 
nates all that was good, beautiful and true in each of his past 
incarnations. 

The seventh seal is the conarium, its zodiacal correspondence 
being Leo, which is the house of the Sun. Here reigns the Silence 
from which issue the seven spiritual "voices," or sounds. These 
mystic sounds Ioannes describes figuratively as trumpet-calls given 
successively by seven Divinities. They become audible when the 
chakras in the brain are awakened. The first four have a relation 



INTRODUCTION TO THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 265 

to the four somatic divisions, and react upon them ; hence Ioannes 
ascribes to the trumpet-calls an obscuring or destructive effect upon 
the earth, the sea, the rivers and springs, and the sky, which corre- 
spond to the somatic divisions. At this stage of the telestic medi- 
tation the physical body is already in a state of trance, and it is now 
the lower psychic consciousness that is to be temporarily paralyzed 
or placed in abeyance ; so, leaving the physical consciousness out of 
the reckoning, Ioannes terms the psychic the "third" as applied to 
each of the four planes, to which correspond the first four trumpet- 
calls. The results produced by the three remaining trumpet-calls he 
terms "woes," since they entail very trying ordeals, the issue of 
which is certain failure to the unpurified neophyte, of whom it has 
been said : "His vices will take shape and drag him clown. His sins 
will raise their voices like as the jackals laugh and sob after the sun 
goes down ; his thoughts become an army and bear him off a captive 
slave." Thus, at the fifth trumpet-call appears "a star fallen from 
the sky to the earth," who is the "Divinity of the abyss" and has 
the key to its crater, or opening, and whose name is Apollyon, "he 
who utterly destroys," the "Murderer" ; he opens the crater of the 
abyss, and from it emerges a locust-swarm of centaurs, who with 
their scorpion-like tails inflict torments on men. This "star" is 
Lucifer, the fallen "son of the morning," the debased psychic mind 
of man, which is indeed the ruler over the abysmal depths of desire, 
the bottomless pit of the passional nature, and the "murderer" truly 
of all that is pure, beautiful and true. This fifth trumpet-call refers 
to the carnal mind energizing in the sympathetic nervous system, the 
seat of the epithumetic consciousness, "the throne of the Beast"; 
and the next trumpet-call, the sixth, bears relation to the cerebro- 
spinal axis, the Apocalyptic "river Euphrates," and to what may be 
termed the psycho-religious consciousness, which manifests itself 
in the emotional worship of the unreal mental images of Deity — 
the lower phase of religion that indulges in irrational theologies, 
superstition, sorcery, fanaticism and persecution. The neophyte 
who has not thoroughly freed his mind from these pseudo-religious 
illusions will inevitably fail in the mystic meditation, which requires 
that all thought-images and preconceptions must be erased from the 



266 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

mind, so as to present it as a clean tablet for the inscription of truth. 
After this sixth trumpet-call, the four Divinities fettered at the river 
Euphrates are loosed : they are the four manifested pranas, the solar 
regents of the seasons, ruling the quaternary divisions of the year, 
month, day and hour. The liberation of these forces is followed 
by the appearance upon the scene of an army of warriors mounted 
on lion-headed, serpent-tailed horses, who represent the countless 
powers of the Nous. A "strong" Divinity, the fifth, then descends 
from the sky, enveloped in a cloud, with a rainbow about his head ; 
his face is luminous like the sun, and his feet resemble pillars of 
fire. This description of him is very similar to that of the Logos; 
he is udana, the unmanifested divine power that is the revealer of 
secret truths. The strong Divinity cries out with a lion-like roar, 
and seven thunders utter their voices. Concerning the utterances 
of these seven thunders Ioannes is very reticent. However, as the 
Greek language has but the one word {phone) for both "voice" and 
"vowel," the meaning obviously is that the "great voice'' of the 
Logos, who is the seven vowels in one, is echoed by the seven 
vowels, the sounds by which the higher forces are evoked; and 
these the seer is forbidden to write down. At this stage of the 
sacred trance the neophyte, having attained to the noetic conscious- 
ness, begins to receive the mystery-teachings, the "sacred, unspeak- 
able words" (apprjTa pijixara) which, as Paulos says, it is not 
lawful for a man to disclose. When he shall have mastered the 
next noetic centre, the "third eye" of the seer, he shall pass beyond 
the illusions of time ; "time shall be no more," and "the God-mystery 
shall be perfected." The Divinity gives a little scroll (booklet) to 
Ioannes, who eats it ; and though honey-sweet in his mouth, it makes 
his belly bitter. The scroll symbolizes the esoteric instructions he 
has received, which are indeed bitter to the lower man, for they 
inculcate the utter extirpation of the epithumetic nature. He is then 
told that he must become a teacher, opposing the exoteric beliefs of 
the masses. 

By a side-scene, a parenthetical explanation is given of the 
adytum, or shrine of the God, and the "two witnesses" of the 
"strong" Divinity, the Nous. The adytum— the temple-cell or fane 



INTRODUCTION TO THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 267 

in which the God is enthroned— is the seventh of the noetic centres; 
and the two witnesses are Ida and pingala, the sushumna being the 
third witness, "the believable and true." 

When the seventh trumpet-call is sounded, there is a choral an- 
nouncement that the God, the true Self, has come to his own and 
will reign throughout the aeons. The adytum is opened, disclosing 
the ark, the mystic receptacle in which were placed the "tablets" 
whereon was inscribed the contract of the God with man. There- 
upon appears the Woman clothed with the Sun, star-crowned and 
standing on the moon; travailing, she gives birth to a man-child. 
She symbolizes the Light of the Logos, the World-Mother, that is, 
the pristine force-substance from which is moulded the solar body 
— her "man-child." The red Dragon, the epithumetic nature, seeks 
to devour her child ; but it is caught up to the God's throne, and the 
Woman flees to the desert, where she is nourished three and a half 
years. This means that after the formation of the solar body has 
begun, any strong passion or emotion may disintegrate and destroy 
it; and that during the first half of the cycle of initiation (here 
placed at seven years) the nascent body remains in the spiritual 
world, as it were, while the sushumna force abides in its "place" in 
the material form, or "desert." For, strictly speaking, the solar 
body is not really born at this stage, but only has its inception. In 
the allegory, however, Ioannes could hardly employ the more accu- 
rate but less delicate mystery-representation of the Eleusinia. 

Here the sacred trance ends for the present ; and next follows a 
battle in the sky. The Dragon and his Divinities are hurled down 
from the sky by Michael and his hosts ; that is, the mind is now 
purified from the taint of impure thoughts. Michael and his fellow 
Chief-Divinities (archangeloi) , Uriel, Raphael, Gabriel, etc., of 
whom he alone is named in the Apocalypse, are the Regents of the 
seven sacred planets, he himself being Hermes, the Guide of Souls 
and Initiator in the Mysteries. But the Dragon, though ejected from 
the intellectual nature, continues his persecutions on the lower plane. 

The Beast, the phrenic nature, is described next. One of his 
seven heads (the seven dominant desires) has been slain, but comes 
to life; it represents the desire for sentient existence, the principle 



268 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

which causes the soul to reincarnate. This will to. live, this pas- 
sionate clinging to sensuous life, is expatiated on by Plato. Al- 
though the aspirant has apparently extirpated this longing, so far 
as the grosser affairs of the material world are concerned, it revives 
when he enters into the subtler planes of consciousness and per- 
ceives the psychic realms of existence. In Buddhistic literature it 
is termed tanha (the trishna of Sanskrit philosophical works) ; and 
in one ritual it is said: "Kill love of life; but if thou slayest tanha, 
take heed lest from the dead it rise again." Because this principle 
keeps man under the sway of reincarnation, Ioannes says signifi- 
cantly: "If any one leads into captivity, into captivity he goes; if 
any one shall kill with the sword, with the sword must he be killed." 

Another beast appears, who is the symbol of the generative prin- 
ciple. He participates in the nature of each of the other beasts, for 
he has two horns like the Lamb, talks like the Dragon, and has the 
magical powers of the Beast. He is called the Pseudo-Seer. His 
false seership is a certain very low form of psychism which, though 
not necessarily sensual, is due to the generative nervous ether. 
From this source come most of the "visions" of religious ecstatics, 
and the material manifestations produced by some spiritist 
mediums; and, in a more general way, it is the source of the 
emotional element in exoteric religion, or so-called religious fervor, 
which is in reality but a subtle sort of eroticism. As a blind emo- 
tional impulse to worship, it stimulates the lower mind, the phren, 
or Beast, to project an image of itself upon the mental screen and 
to worship that illusionary concept; and this— the "image of the 
Beast"— is the anthropomorphic God of exoteric religion. 

Next appears again the Lamb, who by strict classification is one 
of the four beasts, though really too exalted to have that title 
applied to him, since he is the Nous, the regent of the highest of the 
four somatic divisions. With him are his many virginal attendants, 
who, as a prelude to the next act of the drama, chant a new paean, 
to the accompaniment of many lyres. The neophyte has now be- 
come, as it were, like a lyre, with all the loose strings of his psychic 
nature tightened and tuned, tense and vibrant to the touch of his 
true Self. 



INTRODUCTION TO THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 269 

The conquest of the cardiac centres is presented as a harvest 
scene, in which seven Divinities play their parts. Here, again, four 
of the septenate are related to the four somatic divisions. The fifth 
Divinity is "like the son of man," and with a sickle he reaps the 
"dried up" harvest of the earth. He is the Logos, or spiritual Self, 
which assimilates the higher aspirations and idealizing of the 
psychic nature — a harvest that is, usually, by no means abundant. 
The sixth Divinity, who comes out of the God's adytum, reaps the 
vine of the earth, and casts the ripe grapes into the great wine- vat 
of the God's ardor {thumos), and when the vat is trodden, outside 
the city, not wine but blood comes out, "up to the bridles of the 
horses, as far as 1,600 stadia." Xow, while this sixth Divinity 
represents the Nous as intellect, the fifth Divinity reflects the aspect 
of the Logos as Eros, or Divine Desire. The vine of the earth may 
be considered to be that vine of the purely human emotional nature, 
or feeling, whose tendrils are love, sympathy and devotion, and 
whose fruitage yields the wine of spiritual exaltation ; but in the 
technical esoteric meaning the vine consists of the force-currents 
which correspond to the cerebro-spinal nervous system; while the 
great wine-vat of the God's ardor, outside the city (the physical 
body), is the auric ovum, which becomes suffused with an orange 
or golden color through the action of these currents in the cardiac 
centres. The horses are the four somatic divisions, and the number 
1,600 is that of to heliakon soma, the solar body: the cardiac forces 
pervade and color the aura, imparting to it a golden hue, returning 
through the chakras, and circulating through the solar body— a 
process analogous to the nutrition of the foetus, the solar body being, 
as it were, in a foetal state. Thus the Woman is nourished in the 
desert, weaving for the soul its immortal and glorified robe. 

It will be noticed that the word thumos is here rendered "ardor." 
The learned revisers of the "authorized" version translate it 
"wrath," making it a synonym of orge, but changing to "fierceness' 
when, as in two instances, Ioannes has the two words so conjoined 
that the result of their theory, if carried out, would be the impos- 
sible expression "wrath of his wrath," which is, however, but little 
worse than one that is actually used, "the wrath of her fornication." 



270 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

But the word has not that meaning in the Platonic philosophy, or 
in that of the Apocalypse, which is practically identical with it. Plato 
makes thumos the energizing principle of the soul, intermediate 
between the rational nature (to logistikon) and the irrational (to 
epithumetikon) , and he explains that it is not a kind of desire, "for 
in the conflict of the soul thumos is arrayed on the side of the ra- 
tional principle." It is a complex of emotions qualified by compre- 
hensive ideas, as veracity, honor, pride, sympathy, affection, etc., 
and not at all an ordinary impulse of resentment. In Apocalyptic 
usage, thumos is likewise an energizing, creative principle; but 
whereas Plato, writing works of the more popular sort, confined 
himself to a threefold system and wrote with caution, Ioannes, 
using the medium of symbol and allegory, unintelligible to the 
profane, divulges the full fourfold system; he puts phrcn as the 
intermediate principle between the psychic and the noetic nature, 
and elevates thumos to be the energizing principle of the latter. It 
thus corresponds to Eros, the Divine Love, whose inverted reflection 
in the animal nature is Eros, the love-god, or lust. With these two 
Erotes of Grecian mythology he gives also its two Aphrodites, pic- 
turing them as the supernal virgin clothed with the sun and the 
infernal prostitute arrayed in scarlet, the two symbolizing respec- 
tively divine regeneration and human generation. Now, again, the 
word orgc, although signifying colloquially and in ordinary litera- 
ture any violent passion, as anger and the like, has a more technical 
meaning in the terminology of the Mysteries, where it signifies the 
fecundating power or parturient energy in nature. The word is 
derived from opyav, "to swell (with internal moisture)," as do 
plants and fruit from their sap, "to teem," "to swell (with pas- 
sion)"; and from the same root comes orgia, the Mystery-rites 
practised in the worship of Bakchos. 

Next follows the conquest of the generative centres. After a 
paean chanted by the conquerors of the Beast, seven Divinities 
emerge from the adytum. They are more majestic and more splen- 
didly arrayed than the three septenates who have preceded them, 
and their part is to finish the regenerative work. One of the four 
Zoa gives them seven golden saucers (phialai, shallow libation-cups) 



containing the formative force of the Logos, "the thumos of the 
God." What ensues upon the outpouring of the creative potency 
is the eradication of the procreative centres — leaving thereafter but 
three somatic divisions — and the elimination from the other centres 
of every remaining vestige of psychic impurity. The first four 
Divinities act successively upon the four somatic divisions. The 
first Divinity pours out his saucer upon the earth, producing a 
painful sore on the men who had the brand of the Beast and wor- 
shipped his image. The force under the stimulus of which the 
lower psychic nature engendered pseudo-devotional illusions, irra- 
tional sentiments and emotions, and erroneous notions or concepts, 
now becomes the destroyer of these delusions, and of the psychic 
centres to which they are due. 

The second Divinity pours out his saucer into the sea ; it becomes 
as blood, and all creatures in it die. Every vestige of passion and 
desire is eliminated. 

The third Divinity pours out his saucer into the rivers and 
springs, and they become blood. This is the somatic division of 
which the regent is the Beast, or phrenic mind, in which is centred 
the consciousness of the profane, the polloi who have persecuted 
and put to death many spiritual teachers and reformers. Here, 
again, Ioannes indulges in sarcasm; for he makes the Divinity of 
the waters (the Nous as presiding over this plane) say of the pro- 
fane, "They poured out the blood of devotees and seers, and blood 
thou hast given them to drink, for they are worthy" a parono- 
mastic use of the word axios, ''deserving" and also "highly respecta- 
ble." However, when the "blood of the Logos" suffuses the mystic 
centres of the heart ''the knowledge from below" ceases to vaunt 
itself, and is replaced by "the wisdom from above." 

The fourth Divinity pours out his saucer upon the sun, and it 
radiates scorching heat — alluding to the intense activity of the brain 
at this stage. 

The fifth Divinity pours out his saucer upon the throne of the 
Beast, whose realm is thereby darkened, and whose subjects are 
afflicted with pains and sores. The Beast's throne is the great 
sympathetic nervous system, so that his realm extends over practi- 



2J2 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

cally all the so-called involuntary physical and psychic functions; 
but, now that the four somatic divisions have been purified, the 
Beast is deposed, and henceforth the Nous is to reign supreme. 

The sixth Divinity pours out his saucer upon the Euphrates, and 
its waters are dried up to prepare the path for the rulers who come 
from the source of the sun. These are the five "solar" Divinities 
who were erstwhile unfettered at the river Euphrates, the cerebro- 
spinal system. All the irredeemable elements of the man's lower 
self are now expelled, and they become a sort of entity external to 
him : as when, after the death of the physical body, all the evil 
psychic elements which are rejected by the soul before it enters the 
spiritual realm survive in the phantasmal world as a simulacrum, 
shade, or ghost of the dead personality, so upon the spiritual rebirth 
of a man — which connotes the death of his carnal nature, though 
the purified physical body continues to live out its allotted span — 
these expelled elements take shape in that same phantasmal world, 
or Tartarus, and remain there as a congeries of evil forces and 
impure elements, forming a malignant demon, which has no ani- 
mating principle save hatred and lust, and is doomed to disintegrate 
in the cosmic elements. Thus Ioannes describes this gruesome thing 
in his allegory : he sees issuing from the mouths of the Dragon, the 
Beast and the Pseudo-Seer three unclean spirits, resembling frogs, 
who are "spirits of demons," and who collect all the evil forces and 
muster them for the last great battle upon the advent of the God. 

The seventh Divinity pours out his saucer into the air (the 
aureola), and the enthroned God announces, "He has been bom" 
(gegone). The authorized version gives the strained empirical 
translation, "It is done." But gignesthai means "to be born," "to 
become," and is often used in the New Testament in the former 
sense, as in Galatians iv. 4, "born of woman." Ii used to convey 
the meaning "It is done," it would be dubious Greek; but here 
Ioannes is speaking quite openly of the new birth. In the Fourth 
Evangel, where the new birth is allegorically depicted as the cruci- 
fixion, the ultimate utterance is given as tetelestai, "It has been fin- 
ished," referring to the initiation-rite, or "finishing" (telos), and 
conveying the esoteric meaning "He has initiated (perfected) him- 



INTRODUCTION TO THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 27$ 

self." The spiritual birth is, in the Apocalyptic drama, accompanied 
by a general upheaval and readjustment : the great city, Babylon 
(the physical body), becomes three-divisional; the cities of the 
people (the procreative centres) are overthrown; and great hail 
(the condensation psychically of the auric substance) falls. 

In the main action of the drama it is now that the Conqueror, 
the new-born Initiate, appears on his white horse ; but the sequence 
of events is interrupted by a side-scene, which amounts to a paren- 
thetical dissertation on the mysteries of physical existence and the 
epithumetic principle, symbolized by the Woman in scarlet and the 
fiery red Dragon. The Woman stands for Babylon, the physical 
body, and, in a more general sense, incarnate existence. She sits on 
the "many waters," the great psychic sea of sensuous life, and is 
likewise sitting on the Dragon — for he represents microcosmically 
the same principle that the sea does macrocosmically. The Dragon 
who sustains the Woman was, and is not, and yet is; for he is the 
glamour of sensuous life, the deceptive phenomena of which ever 
appear to be that which they are not. His seven heads are seven 
mountains where the Woman is sitting on them ; that is, the seven 
cardinal desires energize through the seven chakras of the physical 
body during incarnation. It is then explained that there are seven 
rulers (kings), of whom five have perished, one is, and the other 
has not yet come, and when he comes he must abide a little while. 
The cycle of initiation extends through seven incarnations, which 
are not, however, necessarily consecutive ; of these the Apocalyptic 
initiate is represented as having passed through five, and being now 
in the sixth; and in the seventh he will attain final emancipation. 
They are called kings because the only incarnations counted are 
those in which the aspirant is veritably the ruler of his lower facul- 
ties and propensities. The Dragon himself is an eighth, a sort of 
by-product of the seven, and he goes to destruction ; for he is the 
phantom which forms after the final purification, and his fate is to 
disintegrate in the nether-world. His ten horns, or five pairs of 
horns, are the five pranas, each of which is both positive and nega- 
tive. They are solar forces, the correspondences on the lowest 
plane of the Nous and the four Zoa, the regents of the four regions 



274 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

of space and the four divisions of time; but here, in the sphere of 
animal vitality, they energize the desires and passions. Thus they 
"have one purpose," and confer their power upon the Dragon, and 
rule with him each for one hour. They are the forces which in the 
innocent child produce its exuberant vitality and exquisite vivacity, 
but which in the individual who yields to the dictates of passion 
become wo fully destructive ; hence they are said to devour the flesh 
of the Woman in scarlet and consume her with fire. 

Then comes a series of proclamations, exhortations and lamen- 
tations relating to the downfall of Babylon, the scarlet prostitute, 
who is the bad Virgo, the terrestrial Aphrodite, all of which applies 
to the complete subjugation of the physical body and its forces, and 
to liberation from the bondage of physical life. There are two 
"falls" in the allegory, paralleling the two crucifixions. 

After this long but necessary digression, the action of the drama 
is resumed : the Conqueror appears, mounted on a white horse ; "he 
treads the wine-vat of the ardor of the God's fecundating energy" ; 
his mantle is blood-hued, and upon it and upon his thigh is inscribed 
his title of supreme ruler. The word "thigh" (meros) is euphe- 
mistic; the phallos, membrum virile, is intended. This particular 
euphemism is common in the Old Testament {Genesis xxiv. 2, et 
passim). Moreover, it will be noticed that here the Conqueror has 
the sword of Mars, and is riding the white horse of the Archer who, 
at the opening of the first seal, the adhishthdna chakra, "came forth 
conquering and to keep on conquering." Thus the incarnated Logos 
is shown to bear a direct relation to the lowest centres. Now, it 
would be utterly impossible to elucidate the Apocalypse and ignore 
this delicate but perfectly pure subject, concerning which even the 
most communicative expositors of the esoteric philosophy have been 
extremely reticent; and so the present writer, being opposed to all 
undue secrecy, and believing that in this matter harm has resulted 
from the suppression of the truth, feels justified in dealing with 
the subject frankly and without constraint, though with necessary 
brevity. As every practical "pyrotechnist" knows, the human brain 
contains certain centres or components, including the pituitary body 
and the conarium, the higher functions of which are almost com- 



INTRODUCTION TO THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 275 

pletely dormant in the normal individuals of the present races of 
mankind, who are therefore termed in the New Testament and 
other esoteric writings "the dead"; yet it is only through these 
organs of the brain that the spiritual Self of man, his overshadow- 
ing God, can act upon the consciousness of the psycho-intellectual 
self. This corpse-like condition of the finer organs of the brain 
does not preclude very high development of the ordinary intellec- 
tual faculties, apart from the epistemonic power; indeed, there are 
and always have been men who are lamentable examples of brilliant 
intellectuality combined with the densest spiritual stupidity. In the 
case of the true genius, the poet, artist, intuitive philosopher, and 
religious mystic of saintly purity, there is a partial awakening of 
these centres; while in the case of the seer (excluding from that 
class the mere psychic clairvoyant) the higher faculties are so quick- 
ened that he becomes cognizant of the interior worlds, the planes 
of true Being. But when the brain is fully restored to its true func- 
tions by the energizing of the speirema, the paraklctos of the New 
Testament, that "Light of the Logos" which is literally the creative 
force of the Logos, then it, the brain, becomes an androgynous 
organ, wherein takes place the immaculate conception and gestation 
of the self-born spiritual man, the monogenics, who is in very truth 
"born from above." This is the process of regeneration and re- 
demption which is expressed by myth and symbol in all the great 
world-religions of antiquity. There being a direct and intimate 
relationship and correspondence between the sacred centres in the 
brain and the lower procreative centres, it follows that true spiritu- 
ality can be attained only when a pure and virtuous life is led ; while 
for the neophyte who would enter upon the telestic labor, the task 
of giving birth to oneself, perfect celibacy is the first and absolute 
prerequisite. Unless he is inspired by the loftiest aspiration, guided 
by the noblest philosophy, and restrained by the most rigid moral 
discipline, his possibility of success is extremely remote; and the 
mere dabbler in the pseudo-occult will only degrade his intellect 
with the puerilities of psychism, become the prey of the evil influ- 
ences of the phantasmal world, or ruin his soul by the foul practices 
of phallic sorcery — as thousands of misguided people are doing even 



276 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

in this age. To follow the mystic "path" the aspirant must keep 
himself pure physically, mentally and psychically. 

The Conqueror and his host are opposed by the Beast and his 
followers, and in the ensuing battle the Beast and the Pseudo-Seer 
are captured. They are thrown into the lake of sulphurous fire— 
which simply means that the rejected elements of man's animal 
nature return to the elemental kingdom whence they were derived 
—are thrown, as it were, into the great crucible of nature. The 
Dragon, however, is imprisoned for a thousand years, after which 
he must be let loose for a short time; that is, the Conqueror has 
yet one more incarnation to undergo, and therefore does not now 
destroy altogether the epithumetic principle, though in his next and 
final earth-life he will make short work of it. The thousand years, 
as a period between incarnations, merely express the apparent time 
on the spiritual plane, where, as Plato explains, sensation is of ten- 
fold intensity, so that the thousand years, here as in the vision of 
Er, '"answer to the hundred years that are reckoned as the life of 
man." The Dragon is disposed of, so far as the Apocalyptic drama 
is concerned ; but Ioannes gives a paragraph in the future tense to 
tell of his final fate. Finding it necessary to explain first, in a 
general way, what happens to the soul after death and between 
incarnations, he does so by describing a vision. He sees thrones 
and those seated on them, and judgment is passed on them. These 
represent a series of after-death judgments ; for after each incarna- 
tion the incarnating Ego passes through a purifying ordeal or 
"judgment." All his activities during the past earth-life are re- 
viewed ; in the allegory they are described as souls revivified. Thus 
the souls of those that had been beheaded because they had the 
evidence of Iesous (the Nous), and those who had not worshipped 
the Beast (that is, the latent intuitions that had been suffered to die 
in the mind, and the higher thoughts, emotions and aspirations), 
come to life and reign with the Christos (the Nous now illumined, 
epistemon, because freed from the body) for a thousand years, that 
is, during the non-incarnated period. But the rest of the dead (the 
thoughts and emotions that were concerned only with the carnal 
nature) do not come to life until the expiration of the celestial 



INTRODUCTION TO THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 277 

interregnum. They lie in latency until the Ego reincarnates, when 
they again become kinetic impulses. This coming to life of the 
nobler elements of man's nature, which were suppressed and slain 
during his earthly sojourn, is called "the first resurrection." Re- 
turning from this general exposition to the particular case of the 
Dragon in the drama (and hence changing to the future tense), 
Ioannes explains that this Adversary will be let loose at the ex- 
piration of the thousand years and will muster all the evil forces 
to make an assault on the beloved city — only to have his forces 
consumed by the divine fire, and himself be thrown into the lake of 
fire and sulphur, where the Beast and the Pseudo-Seer have already 
been sent, thus sharing with them "the second death." 

But the physical body of the Conqueror is not dead ; it is subju- 
gated, purified and shorn of its passional centres. The downfall, of 
Babylon expresses figuratively the death of the carnal nature ; 
for in his regeneration the initiate has passed through a process 
analogous to death, and therefore he undergoes a judgment-ordeal 
similar to that meted out to the excarnated soul, but of vaster scope 
and mightier import. A great white throne appears, and from the 
face of the enthroned Majesty the earth and the sky flee and vanish, 
for he is the perfected Self of the Alan, higher than earth and 
heaven, greater than all the Gods. He is summing up the cycle of 
his incarnations, and on all the elemental forces and faculties of 
his composite nature which have made up his many personalities 
of the past he renders judgment "according to their works." All 
these, "the dead" in the three lower worlds, spring to life and are 
"judged," as Ioannes reiterates, "each and all, according to their 
works." The condemned elements of the physical and psychic 
natures ("Death and the Unseen") are thrown into the lake of fire, 
the chaotic "eighth sphere" in which the creative fire refines, as 
material for future aeons, the hylic refuse of each cycle; and this is 
termed the "second death." 

Then appear a new sky and a new earth, that is, the subjective 
and the objective consciousness of the Nous on its own plane ; but 
the sea, the sensuous consciousness of the lower plane, has passed 
out of existence. The holy city, the deathless solar bodv, now 



278 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

comes down out of the sky, enveloped in its halo, or radiance (he 
doxa), the sun-robe of the God. This aureola is self-luminous, with 
an opalescent glitter; it is the "wall" of the city, having twelve 
gateways (the orifices of the body), and at the gateways twelve 
Divinities (the twelve great Gods of the Zodiac, or cosmic forces), 
and with the names of the twelve tribes of Israel (the zodiacal 
signs) inscribed on the gates; the tribes are in four triads, assigned 
to the four regions of space. The wall of the city has twelve foun- 
dations, which have on them the names of the twelve apostles of 
the Lamb; these are the twelve powers of the Logos, the spiritual 
archetypes of the twelve cosmic forces ; for in symbology the "foun- 
dation" of all things is the spirit, upon which rests the structure of 
whatever is manifested. The measurements of the city and its 
wall have already been explained, together with the enigma of its 
cubical form ; the further details relating to it will be elucidated in 
their proper place in the commentary. 

"Aum. Come thou, O Thought Divine ! The grace of the Divine 
Thought be with the holy devotees. Aum." Thus ends the Apoca- 
lypse of Ioannes, one of the most stupendous allegories ever penned 
by the hand of man. 

So comprehensive, complete and coherent is the Apocalypse, that 
its full beauty, even in its fine finish of details, can be perceived only 
when it is viewed as a whole ; nor can its deeper meaning be grasped 
by mere analytical study. Its multiplicity of details and reduplica- 
tion of symbols have utterly baffled all attempts to analyze it by 
empirical methods; and the exotericists have fared even worse 
through inability to distinguish from the main action of the drama 
the explanatory matter introduced by means of side-scenes. Yet, 
in reality, the construction of the drama is not complicated, and its 
characters are not numerous. Its dramatis personce are : 
A. The God, the forever concealed Divine Presence. 
I. The First Logos (logos endiathetos, immanent idea), the 

Divine Love, from whom proceed : 
II. (a) The Second Logos (logos prophorikos, uttered 
thought), the Divine Thought, the ruler of the cosmic 
forces; symbolized by the Conqueror, the Sun; 



INTRODUCTION TO THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 279 

(b) The Light of the Logos, Arche, the Divine Sub- 
stance, primordial matter; symbolized by the Sky-Virgin, 
the Moon. As Philon Judaios says (De Confus. Ling., 
p. 267), the Logos is the Arche; as Spirit-Matter they are 
one in essence. They emanate : 
III. The Twelve Powers, of which five are noetic (solar) and 
seven are substantive (lunar) ; symbolized by the Twelve 
Zodiacal Constellations. The twelve powers, emanated 
successively on four planes of existence, make forty-eight 
cosmic forces ; and, with Arche-Logos, forty-nine. 
These are the sole performers in the Apocalyptic drama, though 
some of them assume various roles. The ancient zodiac was sub- 
divided into sections of ten degrees each, called decans, giving three 
to each of the twelve signs; and to each of these thirty-six sub- 
divisions was assigned an extra-zodiacal constellation, a paranatel- 
lon, which rises or sets simultaneously with it. These forty-eight 
constellations, twelve in the zodiac and three sets of twelve beyond 
it, with the Sun considered as the centre and making up the number 
forty-nine, completed the stellar scheme of the zodiac, which is 
faithfully adhered to in the Apocalypse. The seven sacred planets 
play their parts in the drama ; but they only represent seven aspects 
of the Sun. The extra-zodiacal constellations Draco, Cetus, Me- 
dusa and Crater are especially prominent as characters in the drama. 
The dramatis persona; and scenic arrangement are shown in the 
diagram on the following page. 

It should be borne in mind, how- 
ever, that these are the worlds and 
forces of the microcosm, man, as 
portrayed in the zodiacal scheme; 
and, as the two triangles represent 
the conflicting spiritual and animal 
principles in the human soul, they 
should be considered as being inter- 
laced in man, the "perfect square," 
and enclosed within the auric ple- 
roma, or divine synthesis, thus : 




The First Logos 
(The God's Love) 




The Second Logos 
(Divine Ideation) 



The Virgin 
(Primordial Substance) 



I. The Sky. 

(Spiritual World.) 
12 Noetic Forces. 



II. The Rivers and Springs. 
(Psychic World.) 
12 Psycho-mental Forces. 



III. The Sea. 

(Phantasmal World.) 

12 Animal-psychic Forces. 



IV. The Earth. 

(Physical World.) 
12 Vital Forces. 



The Beast 
(Phrenic Intellect) 



The Prostitute 
(The Gross Elements) 




The Pseudo-Seer 
(Desire) 



INTRODUCTION TO THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 281 

The four planes of existence are represented in the Apocalypse as 
(1) the Sky, (2) the Rivers and Springs, (3) the Sea and (4) the 
Earth; while encompassing these four is the Air, the Empyrean, 
which is called the fifth world in the Ptolemaic system, although it 
really stands for the three formless planes. 

The twelve forces energizing on each of the four manifested 
planes, or worlds of form, are divided into a five and a seven; the 
five is subdivided into a one and a four; and the seven is subdivided 
into a three and a four, the three being subdivided into a one and a 
two. These divisions, written diagrammatically as if on a measur- 
ing-stick, make the "rod" with which to "measure the adytum of 
the God, the altar, and those who worship in it," excluding "the 
court which is exterior to the adytum"— the lower triad: 



1 




A 




1 1 2 


A 






3 




5 


7 


1 ! 2 


3 | 4 


5 


6 


7 


8 | 9 10 11 


12 



This "measuring-stick" applies to each of the four manifested 
planes; and in each of them the fivefold group relates to the Sun 
and the Rectors of the Four Regions of Space, symbolizing vari- 
ously the Logos and his four manifested powers, the Nous and the 
four intellective faculties, etc. ; and the sevenfold group relates to 
the moon and her septenary time-periods. 

The "rod," which is also called a "hollow reed" (kalamos), as a 
symbol is the caduceus, and represents the sushumna nadi, the two 
serpents entwined around it representing Ida and pingala. The one 
force, sushumna, becomes the three, seven and forty-nine forces. 

The fivefold group, which is really a quaternary and a domi- 
nating power, in each case corresponding to the Arche-Logos, is 
shown, with a few of its many correspondences, in the table on 
the following page. 

The drama has seven acts : ( 1 ) the opening of the seven seals, 
the conquest of the seven principal centres of the sympathetic ner- 
vous system; (2) the sounding of the seven trumpets, the conquest 
of the seven centres of the brain, or cerebro-spinal system; (3) the 



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INTRODUCTION TO THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 283 

battle in the sky, resulting in the expulsion of the Dragon and his 
Divinities, that is, the elimination from the mind of all impure 
thoughts; (4) the harvesting of the earth and its vine, the conquest 
of the seven cardiac centres; (5) the outpouring of the seven 
scourges, the conquest of the generative centres, which finishes the 
"conquest of the chakras" and brings about the birth of the solar 
body; (6) the battle in the psychic world, or infernal region, called 
"Harmagedon," resulting in the overthrow of the three beasts, that 
is, the extinction of the extraneous phantasmal demon, or composite 
elemental self; and (7) the last judgment, the summing-up of the 
completed cycle of earth-lives. All the remaining portions of the 
book are explanatory and descriptive. Of these seven acts, four 
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and the other three to the mental, psychic and auric principles. For 
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ferent division has been adopted. Tabulated, the four acts that are 
concerned with the conquest of the centres, in their bearing upon 
the process of regeneration, are as shown on the following page. 

In a general way, the four conquests made by the Logos-Sun 
correspond to the four seasons of the year : the opening of the seals, 
the beginning of man's spiritual resurrection, is Spring, the time of 
germinating seed, expanding bud and upspringing vegetation; the 
energizing of the noetic centres, the trumpet-calls awakening to 
life the sunlike intellectual faculties, is Summer, the season of 
sturdy growth and hastening to ripeness, the over- fervid sun at 
times scorching the tender-green growth; the opening- of the heart- 
centres, the harvesting of the earth and the vine, is Autumn, the 
period for gathering and garnering the fruitage ; and the conquest 
of the lower life-centres, the scourging of all that is base and impure 
in man's nature, is Winter, the season of purifying frost and cold, 
which prevail until the returning sun, lengthening the days, is mysti- 
cally reborn as the Christ-child, the Sun-God of a new divine year, 
the aeon of the deified man. 

Thus it will be seen that this mystical drama is expressed in terms 
of natural phenomena : its hero is the Sun, its heroine the Moon ; 
and all its other characters are Planets, Stars and Constellations; 



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INTRODUCTION TO THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 285 

while its stage-setting comprises the Sky, the Earth, the Rivers and 
the Sea. It elucidates its subject with the glare of lightning, pro- 
claims it with the roll of thunder, emphasizes it with the shock of 
the earthquake, and reiterates it with the Ocean's voice,, the ceaseless 
murmur of its "many waters." Ever it maintains this cosmic lan- 
guage, this vast phrasing of nature. In the first magnificent chorus 
of Constellations who encircle the throne of the Sun-God the starry 
hosts praise him as the creator of the universe ; yet when the drama 
has been enacted that universe has perished, "the first sky and the 
first earth are passed away, and the sea exists no more." Then 
from his effulgent throne the Logos-Sun announces, "Behold! I 
am making a new Universe." Now, this Apocalyptic Universe is 
Man, the lesser cosmos, of whom the Logos-Sun is in truth the 
Architect and Builder, and whom the Sun, the Moon, and all the 
Stars of heaven have helped to mould and make : for in every human 
creature, however fallen and degraded, are stored up all the forces, 
both cosmic and cleific, which brought him into existence and have 
nurtured him throughout the vast cycle of generation, in countless 
incarnations upon earth, while the Logos of Light has taught him 
the loving lessons of the Good, the Beautiful and the True, and the 
Logos of Darkness has held before him the dread lessons of the 
Evil, the Ugly and the False ; and these same creative forces of 
the Light-giving Logos, with the tireless patience of the deathless 
Gods, but await the time when the resurgent divine life again stirs 
within him, and then, disintegrating the elements composing the 
carnal man, they begin a new evolution, the work of "making per- 
fect" this child of the aeons, whom the Sun-Adversary, "the Scor- 
pion-monster of Darkness," can drag down till he is lower than the 
beasts, but whom the Logos-Sun, the Eagle of Light, can exalt 
above the Gods. 

Written in crabbed Greek, and filled with phrases borrowed from 
the Old Testament, the Apocalypse is nevertheless purely Hellenic 
in spirit and in substance. It is absolutely faithful to the Platonic 
philosophy; and its Divinities (angeloi) are simply the Gods and 
Goddesses of Grecian mythology. Moreover, the Apocalypse is 
really a poem. It seems quite possible that the existing text is but 



286 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

a condensed prose version of a magnificent metrical original : if so, 
the phraseology from the Old Testament was adopted to disguise 
the real significance of the poem, and the work was done by some 
one who- understood the subject-matter. In this it differs from the 
Synoptics, which were given their present form by ignorant forgers. 
Many of the obscure passages in the Apocalypse become clear when 
poetically expanded : it is full of poetic figures of speech imper- 
fectly expressed in dry prose, and a subtle undermeaning runs 
through the text. To point these out in detail in a commentary 
would make the latter wearisome and wooden. Hence the literal 
prose translation upon which the present commentary is based is 
followed by a metrical version which is designed to convey the 
sense of the Apocalypse more fully and accurately than can be done 
by a mere verbatim translation, and to bring out the humorous and 
satirical elements, as well as the poetic imagery, with which it 
abounds. To the prosaic mind the Apocalypse, read misunder- 
standingly in a prose version, may seem harsh and gloomy; but 
considered as a poem, and read with understanding and appreci- 
ation, it is seen to be full of gladness and exultation. In this metri- 
cal version the undermeaning has frequently been substituted for 
the deceptively obvious one on the surface, and obscure passages 
have been expanded to make them clear. All names of persons and 
places are omitted in this version : thus the seven Societies or Lodges 
(ekklesiai) are designated by their corresponding colors as centres 
of the tattvas, Babylon is termed "the Haunted City," Ioannes is 
called "the Seer," etc. The name Ioannes, it may be remarked, 
appears to be but a variant of the Chaldean Oannes, the personifica- 
tion of seership. 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 

Subtitle 

Chapter i. i, 2 

1 The initiation of Anointed Iesous, which the God conferred on 
him to make known to his slaves the [perfections] which must be 
attained speedily. He sent his Divinity and by him symbolized 
[them] to his slave Ioannes, 2 who gave evidence of the Logos of 
the God andof the evidence of Anointed Iesous— of all the [vis- 
ions] that he saw. 

COMMENTARY 

In the Greek Mysteries, which were also called the "perfecting" 
or "finishing" rites, the candidates for initiation, after receiving 
some preparatory training in semi-exoteric lesser rites, were termed 
mystai, "initiates," but were permitted to see the sacred emblems 
only through a veil, symbolizing the dim vision of the psychics, or 
"veiled ones." The full Initiates were called epoptai, "those having 
super-sight"— or seers. The word apokalypsis, "unveiling," is 
clearly a substitute for cpoptcia, "initiation into seership." That 
Ioannes could not possibly have intended the title of his occult trea- 
tise to convey the meaning of "revelation" is evident from the na- 
ture of the work, which is not only profoundly esoteric and couched 
in the mystery-language of the zodiac, but also has its meaning so 
impregnably intrenched behind symbolism, allegory, anagram, num- 
ber-words, and other puzzling devices, that it has successfully with- 
stood the assaults of "those without" (the exotericists) for nearly 
two millenniums. Its subtitle also, by the word "symbolized," 
"showed by signs," (esemanen) , likewise indicates that it was not 
written as light literature for the profane. Possibly the Apocalyp- 
tist had in mind the words in Xenophon's Memorabilia (I, i.), "It 

287 



288 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

had been whispered about that Sokrates said that his Divinity (dai- 
monion) used to give signs (semainein) to him." The Nezv Testa- 
ment word angelos is merely a substitute for daimonion. 

The title makes Ioannes the one to be initiated (unless it is taken 
as merely indicating his authorship, which in the light of the text is 
hardly a reasonable supposition), while the subtitle gives Iesous as 
the candidate for initiation who emerges as the Conqueror after the 
telestic ordeals ; for here Ioannes and Iesous are but one individual- 
ity, Ioannes representing the incarnated man, and Iesous his noetic 
Self, whose "slave" the material man truly must become if he wills 
to reach the heights celestial. The Divinity who comes at the behest 
of Iesous is higher than Iesous himself; for he is the Logos, who in 
the initial vision makes his appearance as the "son of man," and 
remains throughout as the Hierophant, or Initiator, while Iesous is 
the candidate who is subjected to the initiatory trials and has to do 
the perfecting "works," whereby he finally becomes the Conqueror 
on the white horse — the new Initiate in his solar body. The spiritual 
perfections have to be attained "speedily" by sustained, unremitting 
effort; yet, as time is regarded by those who look upon earth-life 
as an affair of but one incarnation, the telestic work would seem by 
no means expeditious; for it requires not less than seven incarna- 
tions of untiring effort before the final goal is reached. But the 
"path" of the esotericist is indeed a short-cut, and his a speedy 
journey, as compared with the progress of those who are content to 
follow the common highway of evolution, and who will reach their 
divine destination, their promised land, only after long ages of 
aimless wandering in the wilderness of terrestrial life. 

In the Apocalypse, however, as in the Gospels, Iesous personifies 
the Sun-God. The Divinity who descends and becomes the Guide 
of Ioannes is, of course, Hermes, who repeatedly says of himself 
that he "comes quickly," referring to his winged sandals, presuma- 
bly. Apollon representing the sun, and Hermes the solar radiance, 
the two symbolize the Nous and its inherent power ; hence they are 
essentially one, and they act jointly as the Hierophant. Their vari- 
ous attributes are combined in the solar Dionysos. 

It is the intuitive mind — "Anointed Iesous"— that gives evidence 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 289 

of the Logos to the neophyte, and he in turn must, according to the 
law of the occult, transmit it to his fellow-men— who usually repay 
him with some form of physical or mental martyrdom. 

Dedication 
Ch. 1. 3 

3 Immortal is he who discerns, and they who learn [from him], 
the arcane doctrines of this Teaching, and observe the [precepts] 
which are written in it ; for [their] season is near. 

COMMENTARY 

This is a dedication of the book to every mystic who may suc- 
ceed in penetrating its inner meaning and impart to other students 
the occult doctrines (logoi) it contains. For the "Logoi (oracles) 
of the Lord" are esoteric aphorisms having in them the potency of 
the Divine Thought, and are not mere "words" comprehensible to 
the conventionalist. Likewise, propheteia is not merely "prophecy" 
in the fortune-telling sense of predicting future events; the w r ord 
means literally "speaking for" (the Gods), the office of the seer 
being to receive and interpret the truths taught in the noetic world, 
the realm of the Logos. The writings of Ezekiel, Zechariah, and 
the other Hebrew "prophets," are esoteric treatises on the nature of 
man, thinly disguised as predictions. In them, nations and person- 
ages play the parts that in the Apocalypse are acted by the heavenly 
bodies. 

The word makarios means much more than simply "blessed." It 
connotes the state of the immortal Gods (emancipated souls), as 
expressed by the Sanskrit term sachchidananda, "true being, con- 
sciousness and bliss." To the man or woman who resolutely pur- 
sues the path of purity and devotion, there will come unfailingly 
this consciousness of immortality and spiritual calm ; it is but a 
matter of centring the mind upon the deathless inner Self instead 
of upon the outer self that is under the sway of alternating death 
and birth. This mental reverting is the metanoia of the New Testa- 
ment, not merely "repentance," but "changing the mind" from the 
mortal to the immortal mode of thought. 



290 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

I 

INTRODUCTION— THE SEVENFOLD LOGOS-SUN 
—THE SEVEN PLANET-SUNS OF THE LIFE- 
CENTRES, AND THE SUN-GOD AND 
HIS FIVE POWERS 

The Seven Life-centres of the Body 
Ch. i. 4, 5 

4 Ioannes to the seven Societies which are in Asia : Grace to you, 
and peace from [the enthroned God] who [for ever] is, who was, 
and who is coming, 5 and from the seven Breaths that are before 
his throne, and from Anointed Iesous, that believable witness, the 
first-born from "the dead," and the chief of the rulers of the earth. 

COMMENTARY 

The word ekklesia, meaning an assembly, or group of people 
called together for some special purpose, a society, applies very 
neatly in the allegory to a nervous plexus, or ganglion, which con- 
sists of nucleated cells acting as a centre of nerve-force to the fibres 
connected with it. The seven Societies are the seven principal 
ganglia; later they are metamorphosed into "seven little lamp- 
stands," each ganglion being a little brain, a minor light-giver in 
the body, as the brain is the great light-giver, or microcosmic sun ; 
and then they are changed almost directly into "seven seals" on a 
scroll, the chakras being indeed sealed in the materialistic person, 
so far as concerns their psychic functions. 

The enthroned God is the First Logos, who abides in the Eternal, 
and is not to be considered as incarnated, but rather as overshadow- 
ing the man on earth. The word "coming" (erchomenos) is used 
because the future participle of the verb "to be" (esomenos) would 
convey an erroneous metaphysical concept; "was," in the imperfect 
tense, expresses an action still continuing, but the future, "shall be," 
would imply something that does not yet exist, whereas the Logos 
is represented as subsisting in an infinite Present which includes in 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 291 

itself the Past and the Future. In the Fourth Evangel (viii. 58) 
the same idea is expressed by the words, "Before Abraham was 
born, I am" Thus also Plato teaches (Timaios, 38) that it is erro- 
neous to attribute the past and the future to the Eternal; "For we 
say, indeed, that he was, he is and he will be; but 'he is' alone ap- 
proximates the true concept (logos) ; for 'was' and 'will be' are 
properly to be said only of generation in time." The two Logoi 
are really one ; the distinction between them is purely metaphysical. 
The seven Breaths (pnenmata), which appear later as seven stars 
(the seven planets), are the Chief Divinities, Michael, Gabriel, etc., 
representing seven aspects of the Logos. Iesous Christos, the first- 
born from "the dead," is the epistemonic (intuitive) Mind; the 
intuition is the first of man's dormant spiritual faculties to awaken, 
bringing certainty of knowledge, and becoming the dominant power 
in his life. 

The Incarnating Self 

Ch. 1. 5, 6 

To him who, having graciously welcomed us and washed us 
from our sins in his blood, 6 also made us rulers and sacrificers 
to his God and Father— to him be the glory and the dominion 
throughout the aeons of the 350ns ! Amen. 

COMMENTARY 

These words of Ioannes refer to the initiation he has passed 
through, and which he is about to describe. The lustration (bap- 
tismos) of blood, which emancipates from sin, is the rain of purify- 
ing fire (the "blood" of the Logos) poured out by the Divinities 
charged with the seven scourges. By a bold oriental simile, a vari- 
ant of the parable of the prodigal, the higher Self is represented 
as hospitably entertaining the returned wanderer, the reincarnating 
self, and washing from him the stains of travel. 

To each of the planets a distinctive attribute is assigned ; and here 
"dominion" applies to the Sun, and "glory" to the Moon. 

The Amen is the equivalent of the Sanskrit Aum, the latter being 



292 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

pronounced with a nasal prolongation, called ardha-matri, "half 
measure," thus giving the Apocalyptic "time, [two] times and half 
a time." Used in a certain way, this word has the power, through 
the correlation of sound and the vital electricity, to arouse the spei- 
rcma, or regenerative force. To use it effectively, one must know 
not only its correct pronunciation but also the predominant color 
and the key-note of his own aura. 

The Incarnated Self as the Crucified 

Ch. i. 7 

7 Behold ! He comes amidst the clouds, and every eye shall see 
him, and they who pierced him [shall see him] ; and all the tribes 
of the earth shall wail over him. Verily! Amen. 

COMMENTARY 

The eyes that see him are the noetic centres; they who "pierced 
him" are the sense-perceptions; and the "tribes" are the repentant 
elements of the mental and psychic constitution. The "clouds" are 
the auric forces ; here the nimbus seems to be referred to rather 
than the aureola ; the latter envelops the entire body, while the nim- 
bus is limited to the head. In conventional Christian art the nimbus 
of the "Father" (who is, in fact, the First Logos and not the Su- 
preme Deity) is represented of a triangular shape, irradiating 
light-rays; that of the Crucified (the Second Logos) contains a 
cross; and that of the Virgin (Arche) has a circlet of stars. In 
the Christos-mythos there are two crucifixions, corresponding re- 
spectively to generation and to regeneration. The first crucifixion 
is the descent of the soul into matter, when the physical body 
becomes its "cross" and the five senses are its five "wounds" ; the 
human figure, with extended arms, forming a cross, and the objec- 
tive senses being avenues that lead away from the spirit. The 
second crucifixion is the ascent of the soul to spirit through the 
initiation-rite, or self -conquest, when it is mystically said to be 
crucified in the brain— in the place called Golgotha, "The Skull." 
Thus Plato (Phaidon, p. 83) says that "each pleasure and pain is 
a sort of nail which nails and rivets the soul to the bodv." 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 293 

The Overshadowing Self 
Ch. I. 8 

8 "I am the Alpha and the 6," says the Master, the God who 
[forever] is-, who was, and who is coming, the All-Dominator. 

COMMENTARY 

In apposition to the announcement of the coming of the Crucified, 
the uncrucined First Logos, the Eternal, declares, "I am the A and 
the X2," which formula includes the five intermediate vowels, E, H, 
I, O, and T, and is equivalent to saying, "I am the seven vowels 
in one." Cedrenus says (p. 169) that the Chaldaeans symbolized 
the Light of Reason (noesis) by the vowels ao>. These two vowels, 
the first and the last letters of the Greek alphabet, were assigned 
to the Moon and Saturn, the intermediate planets answering to the 
five other vowels in their order. Thus Achilleus Tatios (Eisagog., 
p. 136) correctly ascribes the seven vowels to the planets as follows : 
A, Moon; E, Mercury; H, Venus; I, Sun; O, Mars; T, Jupiter; 
and n, Saturn. The seven Planetary Powers are potential in the 
First Logos; in the Second Logos they become manifested poten- 
cies. The title "All-Dominator" is solar; Helios pantokrator domi- 
nates all the planets, and the title is applicable to either Logos. Plu- 
tarch also gives the vowels with the planets. Eusebios quotes a 
Greek sage's verses to the Name of the Deity : "The seven vowels 
celebrate Me, Myself that am the imperishable God, the inde- 
fatigable Father of all Beings." The Egyptian priests were said 
to celebrate the praises of the Gods by chanting the seven vowels. 

The Sun-God and the Seven Planet-Suns 

Ch. 1. 9-1 1 

9 I, Ioannes, who am your brother, as also your copartner in the 
ordeal, ruling and patience of Iesous, came to be in the island which 
is called Patmos, through the arcane doctrine of the God and 
through the evidence of Iesous. 10 I came to be in the Breath 
[-trance] on the master-day, and. I heard behind me a loud voice, 
like a trumpet-call, 11 saying: 



294 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

"What you see, write in a scroll, and send [the message] to the 
seven Societies which are in Asia : to Ephesos, Smyrna, Pergamos, 
Thyateira, Sardeis, Philadelpheia and Laodikeia." 

COMMENTARY 

Serene patience is one of the indispensable qualifications of the 
aspirant for spiritual knowledge, and so is the "ruling," or domi- 
nance of the higher intellect, the Nous (Iesous), over the lower 
faculties. The ordeal (thlipsis) is that of initiation, now begun. 
Through the awakening noetic perception (the "evidence of 
Iesous") and the increasing light from the Logos— the whitening of 
the dawn of the new life — the aspirant becomes isolated, and in the 
drear loneliness of one who has forever abandoned the illusions of 
sensuous existence, but has not yet seen the sunrise of the spirit, 
he dwells, as it were, on an island, apart from his fellow-men. Then 
through his introspection comes the message of the Great Breath, 
and in the sacred trance he attains his first autopsia, beholding the 
apparition of his own Logos. 

Ch. i. 12-16 

12 I turned about to see the Voice which was speaking with me. 
Having turned, I saw seven little golden lampstands, 13 and in the 
midst of the little lampstands an [apparition] like the son of man, 
wearing [a vesture] reaching to the feet and girded at the paps with 
a golden girdle. 14 His head and his hair were white as white 
wool, [white] as snow; and his eyes were as a blaze of fire. 15 
His feet were like the liquid metal that is as if it had been melted 
in a furnace. His voice was as the voice of many waters. 16 In 
his right hand he had seven stars. From his mouth kept flashing 
forth a keen two-edged sword. His face was [luminous], as shines 
the sun by its inherent force. 

COMMENTARY 

This apparition is a fanciful picture of the Sun as the Panaugeia, 
or fount of all-radiating light ; and, like all the puzzles of Ioannes, 
it is ingeniously constructed. The "voice" that speaks is the primary 




The white hair of hoary 

Kpdvos 

(Saturn) 
The blazing eyes of wide-seeing 

Zz6q T 

(Jupiter) 
The keen sword of 



A P tk 



( Mars ) 



,/ /v The shining face of 



The chiton and girdle of 



'AqppoBiry) H 



(Venus) 



The swift feet of 



'Eppj? E 

(Mercury) 
The wave-murmuring voice of 



...PPB, ax* a 



(Moon) 



Tb $£)? TOD K6(7[JLOU 

(The Light of the Cosmos) 



296 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

aspect of the Second Logos, in whom the seven "voices" or vowels 
(for phone is the one Greek word for both "vowel" and "voice") 
become differentiated. As the all-pervading solar Light he walks 
about among the seven golden lampstands, the seven planetary 
bodies, holding in his right hand their seven "stars," the light which 
he confers upon them. The Logos-figure described is a composite 
picture of the seven sacred planets: he has the snowy-white hair of 
Kronos ("Father Time"), the blazing eyes of "wide-seeing" Zeus, 
the sword of Ares, the shining face of Helios, and the chiton and 
girdle of Aphrodite; his feet are of mercury, the metal sacred to 
Hermes, and his voice is like the murmur of the ocean's waves (the 
"many waters"), alluding to Selene, the Moon-Goddess of the four 
seasons and of the waters. To have placed the winged feet of 
Hermes on the figure, or to have used the ordinary word hydrar gy- 
ros ("water-silver") for mercury, would have made the puzzle 
altogether too transparent; so Ioannes has employed the archaic 
word chalkolibanon, which he evidently borrowed from Plato, to 
designate the material used in fabricating the feet of his Planetary 
Logos. Plato speaks of chalkolibanon (Kritias, p. 114) as a metal 
mined by the Atlantians and esteemed by them as the most precious 
of metals except gold— which it is, in the series of esoteric corre- 
spondences, gold being the metal of the Sun, symbolizing the Nous, 
and quicksilver being the metal of Hermes, symbolizing the power 
of divine thought. He does not describe it, but says, "Chalkolibanon 
is now only a name, but was then something more than a name," a 
statement that is no more than a sarcastic comment on the spiritual 
degeneracy of the times. But in his highly technical alchemical 
work, the Timaios (p. 59), he unmistakably describes this metal, 
calling it simply chalk os and ranking it as a primary metal next to 
gold, as "a sort of bright and condensed fluid." In Kritias (p. 
116) he says that the Atlantians mined three kinds of stone, white, 
black and red ; apparently these were the white variety of cassiterite 
(tin-ore), melaconite (black copper-ore) and cinnabar (the red ore 
of mercury) ; for he goes on to say that the three concentric walls 
of the city were plated, the outer one with copper, and the next one 
with tin, while the inner wall, which surrounded the citadel, "flashed 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 297 

with the red light of chalkolibanon" — that is, vermilion, the sul- 
phuret of mercury, a favorite pigment with the ancients. Within 
the citadel was a temple surrounded by an enclosure of gold ; this 
temple was plated with silver, except the pinnacles, which were cov- 
ered with gold. Thus in his symbolic city of the Atlantians Plato 
introduces five of the sacred metals. Inside the temple was a golden 
statue of Poseidon standing in a chariot drawn by six winged 
horses. Whether or not the Atlantis-legend has any historicity, 
Plato's version of it is purely allegorical. Chalkolibanon is ren- 
dered "fine brass" in the authorized version, although brass was 
unknown to the Greeks, who used a bronze composed of copper 
and tin. But chalk os was used as a general term for metal, as well 
as for copper in particular; and chalkolibanon is simply the "metal 
that forms in drops," as does gum exuding from a tree. It is 
neither "brass" nor "incense-gum," but simply quicksilver — fluidic, 
"as if melted in a furnace." 

This figure of the Sun as the ruler of the planets is a symbol of 
the incarnated Self, the Second Logos; and, as given in the descrip- 
tion of the apparition, the seven planets are in reversed order, for 
the Second Logos is the inverted reflection of the First : the celestial 
man is, as it were, upside-down when incarnated in the material 
world. The significance of this inversion develops later in the 
Apocalyptic drama. 

Similar descriptions of the "son of man" are to be found in 
Ezekiel, Zechariah and Daniel, but though similar they are not the 
same ; for the Apocalypse is sui generis, and while Ioannes appar- 
ently borrows many symbols and poetic images from the ancient 
writings, he usually employs them to cloak his real meaning by 
endowing them with a different or a variant significance. Hence 
the exotericists who attempt to follow these supposed parallels will 
only be misled and confused, as Ioannes doubtless intended they 
should be; and, since this commentary is not concerned with the 
esotericism of the Hebrew writings, the usual references to them 
will be omitted. The real parallels between the Apocalypse and 
Plato's writings are much more numerous and striking than these 
deceptive ones that are to be found in the Hebrew scriptures. The 



298 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

indirect quotations from, and references to, Plato's works are more 
numerous even than the quotations from the Old Testament, and 
while the latter are often superficial, the former go to the very heart 
of the Platonic philosophy. 

Ch. i. 17-20 

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead. He placed his 
right hand on me, saying : 

"Be not afraid. / am the First [Adam] and the Last [Adam], 
18 he who is Alive. I became a 'dead man'; and, Behold! I am 
alive throughout the aeons of the aeons, and I have the keys of Death 
and of the Unseen. 19 Write down, therefore, the [glories] you 
saw, also those which are, and those which are about to be attained 
next after them, 20 [beginning with] the mystery of the seven 
stars which you saw on my right hand, and the seven little golden 
lampstands. The seven stars are the Divinities of the seven So- 
cieties; and the seven little lampstands are the seven Societies. 

COMMENTARY 

The esoteric tenet as to "the First and the Last" is very clearly 
stated by Paulos (I Cor. xv. 22, 45) : "For even as in the Adam 
[-man] all became moribund, so likewise in the Christ [-man] all . 
are restored to life." "The first man, Adam, was born in a living 
psychic form (psyche), the last Adam in a life-producing breath 
(pneuma)." 

The Logos, or Divine Man, becomes "dead" during the long 
cycle of material evolution; but as it emerges from material con- 
ditions through the awakening of the epistemonic faculty, or spir- 
itual intuition, it is restored to life; for the man has then the con- 
sciousness of immortality, and holds the keys with which he can 
unlock the .prison-doors of the physical world ("Death") and the 
psychic world, or Hades, the "Unseen." This representation of 
incarnated life as the deathlike obscuration of the soul is very 
common in ancient mystical literature. Plato puts forward the idea 
repeatedly, as in the punning etymology of the Kratylos (p. 400) : 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 299 

"Some say that the body (soma) is the tomb (scma) of the soul, 
which may be considered as buried in our present life." 

The cities of the seven Societies were on the mainland, not far 
from Patmos. Starting with Ephesos, the nearest to the island, 
they extended in a circular form, and thus answered admirably the 




Laodikeia # 



The Seven Cities in Asia 



purpose of the allegory. But that there was no Christian Society 
at Thyateira history is positive, and is somewhat dubious about the 
others. Ephesos was celebrated for her wonderful temple of Diana, 
the Huntress Goddess, whom the Romans connected with Sagit- 
tarius, Artemis being the Guardian of that sign; and Sardeis had 
a temple to the Goddess Rhea, the "Mother," who was quite the 
moral reverse of the chaste Diana. At Pepuza, a desert place in 
Phrygia not far from Patmos and the seven cities, there was a 
centre of the Mithraic Mysteries. 

A marked peculiarity of the Apocalypse and the Fourth Evangel 



3 oo THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

is the constant use of diminutive forms, as "little lampstands" ; for 
both works deal with the microcosm. The small lampstands are 
the chakras, and their "stars" are the differentiated forces of the 
speirema. 

The Saturn-Sun, Ruling the Life-centre of Most Sacred Earth 

Chapter ii. 1-7 

1 "To the Divinity of the Society in Ephesos write : 
"These [words] says he who with his right hand dominates the 
seven stars, he who walks about in the midst of the seven little 
golden lampstands : 2 I know your works, and your over-toil and 
patience, and that you can not bear wicked men. You put to the 
test those pretending to be apostles (and they are not!) and found 
them false. 3 You endured and have patience; on account of my 
name you have toiled and have not grown weary. 4 But I have 
[this complaint] against you, that you left your first love. 5 Re- 
member, therefore, whence you are fallen; reform, and do the first 
works — but if not, coming to you, I shall move your lampstand out 
of its place, unless you do reform. 6 But you have this [virtue], 
that you abhor the works of the Nikolaitanes, which I also abhor. 
7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Breath is saying to the 
Societies. 

"The Conqueror— to him I shall award to eat [the fruit] of 
the tree of life which is in the middle of the Garden of the God. 



COMMENTARY 

To this Society the Logos announces himself 
in his aspect as Memory, the faculty of receiving 
and retaining impressions, which links together 
the past, present and future, and is thus the 
power upon which depends the continuity of the 
individual consciousness. The ever-toiling and 
unwearied memory stores up all the experiences of the individual, 
throughout the long cycle of incarnations, and no memories are ever 




THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 301 

lost save those that are evil and therefore suffer the "second death" 
after the final purification of the soul. 

The muladhara chakra (represented by Ephesos) lies at the base 
of the spinal cord, and being thus at the lower pole of the cerebro- 
spinal system, and the starting-point of the sushumna, it is directly 
related to the highest, the sahasrara, or conarium ; for, as already 
explained, the lower plane of life is the inverted reflection of the 
higher. Hence it is said to have left its first love (the divine 
love having become human love), and is told to remember whence 
it has fallen and do the first works — that is, pour its force into the 
first and highest chakra, the regenerative brain-centre. The quality 
of this chakra still retains somewhat of the higher love, a clinging 
to purity and an aversion to sensuality and every perversion of the 
creative function. It is therefore said to have exposed the impure 
charlatans and to abhor the works (secret rites) of the Nikolai- 
tanes. The latter were a pseudo-occult sect who practised the vilest 
forms of phallic sorcery. The unclean worship of the "Great 
Mother," called Rhea, Kybele, Astarte, and by other names, was 
wide-spread in Asia, and many were her temples, with their "con- 
secrated women." 

The attainment of spiritual knowledge is in effect the process of 
reviving the memory of the incarnating Ego in relation to the su- 
pernal worlds, before it became immured in matter; and this mem- 
ory of things divine can be recalled only through the action of the 
parakletos, the regenerative force. Hence in this aspect the Nous 
is said to hold in its grasp the seven stars and to walk about among 
the seven little lampstands. According to Plato (Phaidros, 248- 
250), all true knowledge is derived from the "recollection of the 
things in which the God abides" : the immature souls, who can not 
"feed on the vision of truth," fail of being "initiated into the mys- 
teries of Being, and are nourished with the food of opinion," but 
"he who employs aright these memories is ever being initiated into 
the perfect mysteries, and alone becomes perfect." In Meno (p. 81) 
he says : "The soul, then, as being immortal, and having been born 
many times, and having seen all things that there are, whether in 
this world or the unseen world, has knowledge of them all, and it 



302 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

is no wonder that she should be able to call to remembrance all 
that she ever knew." Says an Orphic hymn to Mnemosyne, the 
Goddess of Memory: "In thy mystics waken memory of the holy 
rite, and Lethe drive afar." 

As the sun enters each sign of the zodiac it is said, astrologically, 
to "conquer" the sign and to assimilate its particular quality; and 
the same is said of the kundalim as it passes through the chakras. 
Hence the hero of the Apocalypse, who is the Nous, or microcosmic 
Sun, is called "the Conqueror." 

The award to the Conqueror, in the aspect here presented, is the 
Eternal Memory : he shall eat the fruit of the tree of life (the fruit- 
age of the life-cycle) in the God's own abiding-place, the mystical 
Paradise, or state of ineffable bliss. 

In this aspect the Logos is Kronos (Saturn), the God of Time; 
the corresponding vowel is O and the quality tcr^us, "strength," 
the power of holding and retaining. 

Saturn is the ruling planet of Capricornus. The aspects of the 
Logos-Sun are given in the order of the planets as they are domi- 
ciled in the signs from Capricornus reversely to Cancer. 

The Jupiter-Sun, Ruling the Life-centre of Living Water 

Ch. ii. 8-1 1 

8 "To the Divinity of the Society in Smyrna write : 
"These [words] says the First [Adam] and the Last [Adam], 
who became a 'dead man,' and came to life: g I know your works, 
and ordeal and poverty (but you are rich!) and the profanity of 
those claiming to be Judaeans— and they are not, but are an assem- 
bly of the Adversary, io Do not fear the [ordeals] which you 
are about to undergo. Behold ! The Accuser is about to cast some 
of you into prison, that you may be brought to trial; and you will 
have an ordeal of ten days. Become confiding until death and I 
shall give you the crown of life, n He who has an ear, let him 
hear what the Breath is saying to the Societies. 

"The Conqueror shall not at all be punished by the second 
death. 




THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 303 

COMMENTARY 

Here the Logos is presented in his aspect as Reason, the highest 
philosophical intellection (noesis), which in the carnal man is dor- 
mant, but which awakens when he turns to the serious considera- 
tion of the concerns of the higher life. 

The reasoning faculty, hampered by the ma- 
terial brain, is poverty-stricken; but when freed 
from the trammels of matter it is rich in ideas. 
But here the words "but you are rich" seem to be 
satirical, referring to the wealth of false learning. 
The pseudo-Judseans are the irrational dogmas 
of exoteric religion, which are put forth as divine 
revelations, though they are obviously opposed to reason, and are 
but the mere vagaries of the phrenic mind when under the 
stimulus of the perverted devotional nature, and come, there- 
fore, not from the Logos but from his adversary, Satanas, the 
foe of intellectual light. It has been asserted by some that the 
Hebrew language was at first a secret sacerdotal jargon of Egyptian 
origin; and St. Gregory of Nyssa asserts (Oratio, p. 12) that the 
most learned men of his day knew positively that it was not as 
ancient as other languages and did not become the spoken language 
of the Jews until after their departure from Egypt. The word 
"Jew" is used throughout the Apocalypse in its Kabbalistic mean- 
ing, for one having esoteric knowledge, an initiate ; as in the Kab- 
balistic maxim, "The stone becomes a plant, the plant an animal, 
the animal a man; the man a Jew, and the Jew a God." Hence 
came the myth of the "chosen people." 

The "ordeal of ten days" is apparently a fast, as in Daniel i. 
12, 14. 

This chakra, the adhishthdna, is the starting-point of Ida and 
pingala, which are allegorized in the Apocalypse as the "two wit- 
nesses," the sushumna being the third. 

The reward of the Conqueror is Conscious Immortality : he is 
to wear the crown of life, and nothing that originates in the spir- 
itual mind shall pass into the oblivion of the second death. 



3 04 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

This aspect of the Logos is that of Zeus (Jupiter), the son of 
Kronos and the father of Gods and men, who was also called Zens 
Triopes, the "Three-eyed," and was represented on the Acropolis 
of Argos by a gigantic statue having two eyes in its face and one 
on the top of its forehead. The corresponding vowel is T, and the 
attribute <ro<f>ia, "skill." 

The Mars-Sun, Ruling the Life-centre of Creative Fire 

Ch. ii. 12-17 

12 "To the Divinity of the Society in Pergamos write: 
"These [words] says he who has the keen two-edged sword: 
13 I know your works, and where you dwell— where the throne of 
the Adversary is. You are holding fast my name, and you did not 
abjure belief in me even in the days in which [the oracle was] 
Antipas, my believable witness, who was slain among you, where 
the Adversary dwells. 14 But I have a few [complaints] against 
you, because you have there those who uphold the teaching of 
Balaam, who taught Balak to set a snare before the children of 
Israel, to eat [food] offered to ghosts, and to prostitute. 15 So, 
also, you have those who uphold the teachings of the Nikolaitanes 
likewise. 16 Reform— but if not, coming to you speedily, I shall 
combat them with the sword of my mouth. 17 He who has an ear, 
let him hear what the Breath is saying to the Societies. 

"The Conqueror— to him I shall award to eat a share of the 
occult manna ; and I shall award to him a white voting-pebble, and 
on the voting-pebble [will be] a new name engraved, which no one 
knows but he who receives it. 

COMMENTARY 

To this Society the Logos presents himself in his aspect as Will, 
volition, the energizing principle, and he carries, therefore, the 
sword of the War-God. 

Pergamos stands for the manipuraka chakra, the solar plexus, 
which is the chief centre of the sympathetic nervous system, and 




THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 305 

the seat of the epithumetic nature— the Dragon, or Satanas, the 

Adversary of the Logos. Plato states (Timaios, p. 70 et seq.) that 

the desires are "chained down like a wild beast" 

in the region between the midriff and the navel, 

"and knowing that this principle in man would 

not listen to reason" and "was liable to be led 

away by ghosts and phantoms of the night and 

also by day, the God, considering this, formed the 

liver, to connect with the lower nature and to 

Arcs 
dwell there, contriving that it should be compact, 

smooth and bright, and both sweet and bitter, in order that in it the 
energy of the thoughts, proceeding from the mind (nous), might be 
received like figures in a mirror and projected as images." Thus, he 
says, the creative powers, in order that the lower nature "might 
obtain a measure of truth, placed in the liver their oracle (to man- 
teion) — which is a sufficient proof that the God has given second- 
sight (mantiken) to the foolishness of man." "Such, then, is the 
nature of the liver, such its function and place, as said, formed for 
the sake of second-sight." This, of course, is the faculty of the 
mantis, or individual gifted with "second-sight"; and this is also 
the "witness Antipas," who has indeed been slain by those who 
have lost even this psychic function of the liver, as well as the in- 
tuition of the intellectual nature. ANTI-IIA-S is simply MANTIS 
disguised by having its initial M converted into TEA (pa) and ana- 
grammatically transposed. To solve the puzzle, it is only necessary 
to combine the letters II and A, forming IAI, which when inverted 
makes a passable M— and incidentally shows why "eminent schol- 
ars" have failed to find a satisfactory Greek derivation for the word 
or any historical record of the supposed "martyr." 

The snare of Balak, the eating of food devoted to spirits, and 
sexual promiscuity, all refer to various goetic practices, the nature 
of which is best left unexplained. 

The reward to the Conqueror, who by the dauntless energy of 
the will vanquishes all the evil foes in his own nature and fights his 
way to the pure region of spiritual light, is that he has imparted to 
him the secret knowledge, the Gnosis, and is given, as it were, a 



3 o6 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

ballot, being named and naturalized a citizen of the republic of the 
initiated. 

Here the Logos has the semblance of Ares (Mars). The cor- 
responding vowel is O, and the attribute Swa/xis, "force." 

The Central, or Day-Sun (Logos), Ruling the Life-centre 
of the Divine Consciousness 

Ch. ii. 18-29 

18 "To the Divinity of the Society in Thyateira write: 
"These [words] says the son of the God, who has his eyes as a 
blaze of fire and his feet like the liquid metal: 19 I know your 
works, and your love, belief, service and patience; and that your 
last works [are to be] greater than the first ones. 20 But I have 
[a complaint] against you, that you tolerate your wife Iezabel, 
who, professing to be a seeress, teaches and deludes my slaves to 
prostitute and to eat [food] offered to ghosts. 21 I gave her time, 
that she might reform; but she does not will to reform from her 
prostitution. 22 Behold! I cast her on a [Procrustean] bed, and 
[shall subject] to a great ordeal those committing adultery with her, 
unless they shall reform from their works. 23 I shall slay her 
children in the Death [-world] ; and all the Societies shall know 
that / am he who searches into kidneys and hearts, and I shall give 
[knowledge] to each of you according to your works. 24 But 
to you I say, to the rest in Thyateira — as many as do not possess 
this teaching, who remained guileless of knowledge concerning 
the depths of the Adversary, as they say— I do not cast on you an 
additional burden. 25 Nevertheless, that which you do possess, 
retain dominion over it till I come. 

26 "The Conqueror, and he who guards my works until the 
perfecting-period, to him I shall award authority over the people, 
27 and he will shepherd them with an iron wand (like vessels of 
clay they are being crushed!) as / also received [authority] from 
my father. 28 And I shall award to him the morning star. 29 
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Breath is saying to the 
Societies. 




THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 307 

COMMENTARY 

To this centre the Logos presents himself in his aspect as Direct 
Cognition, the faculty of apprehending truth without the aid of 
inductive reasoning ; and in this aspect as the Sun, the pure intellec- 
tual effulgence, he is not the "son of man," but is the "son of the 
God," having the all-seeing eyes of Zeus and the winged feet of 
Hermes, thus combining the attributes of the Divine Reason and 
the Divine Thought. 

Thyateira represents the anahata chakra, the 
cardiac centre. As the liver, the organ of divina- 
tion, is the reflector of the mind in the epithumetic 
region, so the heart is the organ which in the 
phrenic region serves as the reflector of the Nous, 

and is therefore the centre of the higher psychic 

m rt . Helios 

consciousness. The corresponding reflector in 

the brain is the conarium ; and the generative organs, the "three 
witnesses," or inverted analogue of the higher triad, fulfil the same 
psychic function in the* lowest of the four somatic divisions ; hence 
the allusion to the "kidneys" or "loins" — a euphemism for testes. 
Thus the creative and intellectual centres are here referred to, as the 
Logos here has the combined aspects of Zeus and Hermes. The 
four virtues enumerated, love, belief, service and patience, corre- 
spond to the four noetic qualities as transmitted through the heart. 
The pseudo-seeress Iezabel has the name and attributes of the 
sorceress, Ahab's wife, of malodorous memory, in the Old Testa- 
ment story. She here represents the emotional, erotic sort of psy- 
chism which is sometimes developed at orgiastic "religious reviv- 
als," and which is more characteristic of hysterical women than of 
rational human beings. By this prostitution of mind and emotion 
to the base epithumetic nature, causing moral disintegration and 
the dissipation of psychic energy, mediumistic faculties are some- 
times developed, opening up avenues of communication with the 
shades of the dead, the disgusting larvae to whom the misguided 
medium quite literally offers as food the elements of his own dis- 
integrating personality. The cardiac centre, when purified, is the 



3 o8 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

seat of the spiritual consciousness, but, unpurified, it is the "throne 
of the Beast," the phrenic or psychic mind, and the "wife" of the 
Beast is the psychic body even as the solar body is "the bride of the 
Lamb." The cultivation of the psychic faculties and powers, un- 
less preceded by moral purification, leads inevitably to sorcery; and 
thus the misguided psychics, instead of attaining emancipation, 
only involve themselves more deeply in the cycle of incarnations — 
"the great ordeal." As said in the Upanishads, "they go from 
death to death." 

The award to the Conqueror — if he also heeds the works of the 
Logos, that is, observes the admonitions of the spiritual mind — is 
the absolute dominion over the lower faculties and forces, which he 
rules as with a rod of iron ; and he receives the morning star, which 
symbolizes the Divine Love that heralds the coming day of full 
spiritual illumination. But the words "iron wand" are taken from 
the Old Testament; the wand should be a golden one, as it is the 
caduceus of Hermes, the beautiful shepherd. 

Here the Logos has the aspect of Helios (the Sun) ; the cor- 
responding vowel is I, and the attributes,' three in number, are 
Kpdros, "dominion," 77X01)709, "wealth," and evxapucrTLa, "thanks" 
or "all-graciousness," the latter epithet implying that the Sun-Logos 
unites in himself all the graces, or good qualities, of the seven 
planets. 

The Venus-Sun, Ruling the Life-centre of Vital Air 

Chapter hi. 1-6 

1 "To the Divinity of the Society in Sardeis write : 
"These [words] says he who has the seven Breaths of the God 
and the seven stars : I know your works : that you have the name 
that you are alive, but that you are dead. 2 Become awakened 
[from the dead] and strengthen the remaining [affections] that 
were on the point of dying; for I have not found your works ac- 
complished before my God. 3 Therefore, remember how you have 
received [this message] and heard [it] ; and observe [its precepts], 
and reform. If, therefore, you will not be awake, I shall come upon 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 309 

you [silently] as a thief [comes], and you will not at all know what 
hour I shall come upon you. 4 But you have a few names in Sar- 
deis who did not sully their garments, and they shall walk with me 
in white [raiment], for they are deserving. 

5 "The Conqueror— he shall thus be clothed in white garments, 
and I shall not at all erase his name from the book of life, but I 
shall acknowledge his name before my Father and before his Di- 
vinities. 6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Breath is 
saying to the Societies. 

COMMENTARY 

To this Society the Logos proclaims himself in his aspect as the 
Divine Love, the deific creative energy ; and here he is the synthesis 
of the seven planets (stars) and the seven creative forces (pneu- 
mata), thus corresponding, in a way, to the First 
Logos, or Eros. 

Sardeis represents the vishuddhi chakra, the 

centre in the throat, which is directly related to 

the lower creative centres, as is shown by the 

change of voice at the time of puberty and the 

castrato voice of the eunuch. The throat is also 

1- * rr 1 1 1 r • Aphrodite 

peculiarly affected by the finer emotions. 

This higher love is here said to have the name of being alive, yet 
to be dead in reality ; for the devotional aspirations and purer affec- 
tions of humanity are indeed pitifully weak and moribund. It is 
this deadness of the moral feelings that stills the voice of con- 
science ; yet at any time that conscience may unexpectedly speak out, 
bringing remorse and sorrow to him whom the Self has thus sud- 
denly aroused, coming upon him silently, like a thief in the night. 
This simile is repeated in xvi. 15, with almost the same wording. 

The city of Sardeis was a centre of Venus-worship, having a 
temple of Astarte. 

The reward to the Conqueror is perfect purity; and the auric 
color corresponding to this chakra (its esoteric "name") will re- 
main in the aureola (the book of life), or "glory"; emotion becom- 
ing transmuted into the eternal gladness. 




310 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

In this aspect the Logos is Aphrodite (Venus), the Goddess of 
Love ; it is only in this female aspect that the Logos is the creative 
"Word" (in one sense the occult potency of sound), and therefore 
identical with Vach, the Goddess of Speech, who is considered to be 
the same as Sarasvati, the Goddess of Love and wife of Brahma 
(the Logos) in Hindu mythology. The corresponding vowel is H, 
and the attributes are evXoyia, "invocation," and fiao-ikeia, "realm" 
or "ruling." 

The Mercury-Sun, Ruling the Life-centre of Holy Ether 

Ch. hi. 7-13 

7 "To the Divinity of the Society in Philadelpheia write : 
"These [words] says he who is Holy, who is True, who has 
David's key, who opens and no one shall shut, who shuts and no one 
opens : 8 I know your works ; behold ! I have swung open before 
you the door which no one can shut. For [I know] that you have 
a little force; and you observed my arcane doctrine, and did not 
abjure my name. 9 Behold! I am giving [deliverance to some] 
from among the assembly of the Adversary [composed] of those 
professing to be Judaeans — and they are not, but. are lying. Be- 
hold! I shall cause them to come and make obeisance before your 
feet, and to know that / have graciously received you. 10 Because 
you guarded the arcane doctrine of my patience, / also shall guard 
you from the [first] hour of that probation which is about to come 
upon the entire home-land, to put to the proof those who are dwell- 
ing upon the earth. 1 1 I am coming speedily. Retain a firm grasp 
on the [steadfast virtue] which you possess, so that no one may 
carry off your crown. 

12 "The Conqueror — I shall make him a pillar in the adytum 
of my God, and nevermore shall he go outside of it ; and I shall 
write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my 
God, the new Hierousalem, which is coming down out of the sky 
from my God; and [I shall write on him] my new name. 13 He 
who has an ear, let him hear what the Breath is saying to the So- 
cieties. 




THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 311 

COMMENTARY 

Here the Logos presents the aspect of the Divine Thought, the 
pure and unmixed nature of intellect, or the un- 
refracted light of the Nous— Thought not differ- 
entiated into thoughts, but considered as the ener- 
gizing principle of Mind, and the complement of 
the energizing principle of Love. "The Holy" 
and "the True" are identical with "the Good" and 
"the True" of Plato, while the correlated Aphro- 
dite-aspect is "the Beautiful." 

According to Kabbalistic mysticism, ADaM stands for Adam, 
David and Messias, making the Messias the reincarnation of Adam 
and of David: these represent three stages in man's life-cycle, 
Adam being the primeval state of childlike innocence, David the 
adolescence in which good and evil struggle for the mastery, and 
Iesous (Messias) the stage of spiritual maturity. David, for all his 
vileness and evil deeds, had the virile depth of feeling, philosophic 
breadth of mind and poetic insight that give promise of the spiri- 
tual man ; and these were his "key" to the door giving entrance to 
the spiritual consciousness. Compare with this xxii. 16 and com- 
mentary. 

Philadelpheia stands for the ajha chakra, the centre at the fore- 
head. This centre is the point of divergence of the auric light, the 
color of which reveals infallibly the spiritual status of each indi- 
vidual. Thus, if the light radiating from it is golden-yellow, it is 
the "name" of the Sun; if dull red or green, it is the "brand of the 
Beast." 

The hour of probation, or test, is the opening of the sixth centre 
by the kundalim, as described at the opening of the sixth seal (vi. 
12-17), an d it has its parallels in the sounding of the sixth trumpet 
and the pouring out of the sixth libation-bowl. 

The reward of the Conqueror is that he is to become a sustaining 
power in the spiritual world, no more to reincarnate, but to abide 
in the eternal city, the solar body. 

The aspect of the Logos here is that of Hermes (Mercury), the 



312 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

God of Occult Wisdom. The corresponding vowel is E, and the 
attributes are ti/at?, "honor," and o-ayrrjpCa, "deliverance." 

The Moon, or Night-Sun, Selene, Ruling the Life-centre of 
Pristine Substance 

Ch. hi. 14-22 

14 "To the Divinity of the Society in Laodikeia write : 
"These [words] says the Amen, the witness believable and true, 
the origin of the God's organic world: 15 I know your works, that 
you are neither cold nor hot. I would that you were cold or hot ! 
16 So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I am on 
the point of vomiting you from my mouth. 17 Because you say, 
T am rich, I have become rich, and I have lack of nothing,' and do 
not know that you are the worn-out, pitiable, beggarly, blind and 
naked one, 18 I advise you to buy from me gold tried by fire— so 
that you may be rich — and white garments — so that you may clothe 
yourself, and the shame of your nakedness not be apparent — and 
eye-salve to anoint your eyes — so that you may see. 19 All whom 
I love, I confute and instruct. Therefore strive after [wisdom], 
and reform. 20 Behold ! I am standing at the door and gently tap- 
ping. If any one hears my voice and opens the door, I shall visit 
him ; and I shall dine with him, and he with me. 

21 "The Conqueror— I shall award to him to be seated with 
me on my throne, as I also conquered and was seated with my fa- 
ther on his throne. 22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the 
Breath is saying to the Societies." 

COMMENTARY 

To this Society the Logos announces himself 
as the Divine Substance, Arche, from which 
originate all the elements, both subtile and gross, 
including those forms of matter which the modern 
physicist classifies as "forces." 
Laodikeia represents the sahasrdra chakra, the atrophied "un- 
paired eye." Hence the allusion to the Phrygian "eye-salve." This 




Selene 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 313 

centre should be the seat of the intuitive faculty of ardent aspi- 
ration, fervid imagination and vitalizing will, as also of the 
philosophic reason, of the analyzing and synthesizing faculty, of 
dispassionate judgment and discrimination ; but the unpurified, un- 
disciplined mind is capable of discursive reasoning only, receives no 
accession of truth from the higher subjective consciousness, and is 
satisfied with the acquisition of "learning" as a mere accumulation 
of sense-perceptions and the ideas, notions and beliefs generally 
current among men. It is this inferior faculty of reason that is 
excoriated in the text. 

The words "I confute and instruct" (ikey^co kcu iraiSevo)) repeat 
a favorite doctrine of Plato, who teaches (Sophist, p. 230) that 
"confutation is the greatest and chiefest of purifications, and he 
who has not been confuted, though he be the great King himself, is 
in the highest degree impure; he is uninstructed and deformed in 
those things in which he who would be truly blessed ought to be 
pure and fair." 

In verse 19 there is, apparently, a lacuna; the word "wisdom" 
(gnosis) is needed to complete the sense. The early Christians 
hated Gnosticism, the Wisdom-cult; and in many places they have 
expunged the word "wisdom" from the text of the Gospels, some- 
times leaving a lacuna, as here, but usually substituting "faith" or 
"righteousness." 

Neither cold nor hot, that is, having neither the dispassionate 
reason nor the devotional fervor, but lukewarm and nauseating to 
the spiritual mind, the lower mind yet prides itself on its supposed 
wealth of intellectual attainments ; yet, without the gold of spiritual 
refinement and the white garments of purity, these attainments are 
meagre and unlovely. In the Synoptics the exemplifies of cold in- 
tellectualism (who are disguised in the "historicized" text as Jewish 
"scribes and Pharisees") are scathingly reproached by Iesous; and 
in the Apocalypse false learning, as distinguished from true wisdom, 
is ridiculed and satirized. 

The voice of the true Mind, the Nous, is ever speaking to man ; 
but only when the clamor of the passions is silenced, and the rude 
energy of the lower mental faculties suppressed, can that voice be 



314 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

heard : for the divine Visitor does not knock imperiously for admit- 
tance, but makes its presence known by the fine and subtle intuitions. 

The reward of the Conqueror is to share the throne of the God, 
to become one with his own highest Self. 

Here the Logos has the semblance of Selene (the Moon), the 
''white-armed" Goddess who rules the four seasons and the waters. 
The corresponding vowel is A, and the attributes are Sofa, 
"glory," and igovcria, "authority." 

Tabulated, with their correspondences, the seven aspects of the 
Logos are as follows : 



Societies 
and Centres 


Planets 

AND 

Vowels 


Aspects 


Attributes 


Rewards to Con- 
queror 


Ephesos. 
Sacral. 


1? 


n 


Memory. 


Strength. 


Continuity of Con- 
sciousness. 
(Tree of Life.) 


Smyrna. 
Prostatic. 


% 


T 


Reason. 


Skill. 


True Being. 
(Crown of Life.) 


Pergamos. 
Epigastric. 


$ 


o 


Will. 


Force. 


Spiritual Power and 

Knowledge. 

(Occult Manna and 

Voting-pebble.) 


Thyateira. 
Cardiac. 





i 


Direct 
Cognition. 


Dominion. 
Wealth. 
Thanks. 


Dominion over All 

Faculties. 

(Iron Wand.) 


Sardeis. 
Pharyngeal. 


? 


H 


Divine 
Love. 


Praise. 
Ruling. 


Eternal Bliss. 
(Book of Life.) 


Philadel- 
phia. 
Cavernous. 


§ 


E 


Divine 
Thought. 


Honor. 
Deliverance. 


Emancipation from 

Reincarnation. 
(Pillar of Adytum.) 


Laodikeia. 
Conarium. 


3 


A 


Divine 
Substance. 


Glory. 
Authority. 


The Solar Body. 
(Throne of the God.) 



In the seven benedictions contained in the Apocalypse twelve 
attributes are given; of these three are assigned to the sun, two to 
each of the members of the higher triad, and one to each of the 
lower. When the two triads (the sun being always the central 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 



315 



planet) are paralleled, the result is a fourfold system, in which the 
epistemonic faculty stands alone, and the other faculties are paired, 
as shown in the following table : 



». 


Planets 


Faculties 


Attributes 


Helios (Sun). 


Direct Cognition. 


Dominion. 
Wealth. Thanks. 


2. 
3. 


Ares (Mars). 
Aphrodite (Venus). 


Will. 
Love. 


Force. Praise. 
Ruling. 


Zeus (Jupiter). 
Hermes (Mercury). 


Reason. 
Thought. 


Skill. Honor. 
Deliverance. 


4. 


Kronos (Saturn). 
Selene (Moon). 


Memory. 
Substance. 


Strength. Glory. 
Authority. 



The Divine Self, the Initiator 
Chapter iv. 1-3 

1 After these [things] I saw ; and, behold ! a door opened in the 
sky; and it was that first voice which I [now] heard, like a trumpet- 
call speaking to me, [the enthroned God] saying: 

"Come up hither, and I shall make known to you the [perfec- 
tions] which must be attained hereafter." 

2 Immediately I came to be in the Breath [-trance]. Behold! a 
throne was placed in the sky, and on the throne [a God] was seated. 
3 The enthroned [God] was in appearance like an opal and a car- 
nelian, and a rainbow encircled the throne, in appearance like an 
emerald. 

COMMENTARY 

This trumpet-like voice is that of the First Logos, the Enthroned 
Eternal (ch. i. 8), and not that of the Planetary Logos who sent 
the messages to the seven Societies. 

The names of the precious stones in the Greek are somewhat un- 
certain ; but here it is obvious from the context that the tacnri^ was 
w r hat is now called the opal. 

The somatic divisions in the Apocalypse agree with the symbol- 
ism of the Jewish tabernacle, except that the latter was semi-exo- 



316 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

teric, following the threefold system. Thus Josephus (Ant., iii. 
vii. 7), copying Philon Judaios, says that out of the three portions 
into which the length of the tabernacle was divided, the two into 
which the sacrificing priests were allowed to enter represented the 
Earth and the Sea, which are open to every one, and the third por- 
tion, which was inaccessible to them, was like the Sky, which is 
reserved for God, because it is his dwelling-place; he further ex- 
plains that the branching out of the candlestick into seventy (prop- 
erly seventy-two) parts signified the decans, the seven lamps re- 
ferring to the courses of the planets, and the twelve precious stones 
on the high-priest's breastplate representing the zodiacal signs, 
while the four components of the veil denoted the four elements. 

The Lord of Life and His Four Manifested Powers 

Ch. iv. 4-8 

4 Encircling the throne were twenty- four thrones, and on the 
thrones [I saw] twenty- four Ancients seated, arrayed in white gar- 
ments, and [wearing] on their heads golden crowns. 5 From the 
throne went out lightnings, voices and thunders; and [there were] 
seven torches of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven 
Breaths of the God. 6 Before the throne [was a sheen] as a glassy 
sea, like crystal. In the middle of the throne [was the Lord of 
Being], and in a circle about the throne [were] four Beings, full of 
eyes before and behind. 7 The first Being was like a Lion ; the 
second Being was like a young Bull; the third Being had the face 
of a Man; and the fourth Being was like a flying Eagle. 8 The 
four Beings, having each one of them six wings, are full of eyes 
round about and within; and ceaselessly day and night they keep 
saying : 

"Holy, holy, holy [is] the Master-God, the All-Dominator, who 
was, who [forever] is, and who is coming!" 

COMMENTARY 

The constellation Aquila, the Eagle, is the northern paranatellon 
of Capricornus, and one of its names was "the living eye." It is a 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 317 

stellar reduplication of the Sun, and is associated with the element 
aether. The four Beings are the manifested pranas, the Regents of 
the quarters of the zodiac and the four trigons or triplicities of 
water, air, fire and earth. The fifth, the unmanifested life-wind, 
udana, is not mentioned in the text ; but the curious wording betrays 
a lacuna: for the four Beings could hardly be "in the midst of the 
throne" (the Sun), and at the same time be "round about it." The 
fifth Regent, udana, the "Divinity standing in the Sun" (xix. 17), 
and corresponding to aether, is the one who belongs in the middle 
of the Sun-throne, while the four others are ranged about it ; and 
udana, the "upgoing" life-wind, is properly represented by the soar- 
ing eagle. The fourth Being should be the Scorpion; but he is 
omitted (presumably because he would cut a ridiculous figure be- 
fore the throne of God) and the Eagle, who is really the fifth Being 
and Lord of the four others, has been substituted for him. 

The four Beings, or four operative Powers of the Logos, cor- 
respond to the four great planes of existence and, therefore, also to 
the four manteias, or states of seership, on each of those planes. 
(When Ioannes speaks of being "in the Breath" he uses the word 
pneunia in place of manteia, "trance." as the latter word would be 
too explicit for allegorical purposes.) Each of these four states of 
seership has a subjective and an objective phase on the plane to 
which it relates ; and this is symbolized by the many exterior and 
interior eyes of the Beings. As already explained, the Xous has its 
"reflector" in each of the four somatic divisions. As macrocosmic 
powers, the four Beings are mystically the four quarters of the 
zodiac, the four arms, so to say, of the sun ; and as solar forces each 
is a septenate, radiating from a focal point into the six directions 
of space. Similarly, the time-periods are divided into fourths, as 
the year, which has four seasons, each containing three months, 
these being again subdivided into bright and dark fortnights, mak- 
ing twenty-four such periods, corresponding to the twenty-four 
hours of the day. The forces which, whether in the macrocosm or 
the microcosm, govern successively these various time-periods are 
the twenty- four "very old men" ( presbyter oi) , the Ancients, and 
they are identical with the twenty-four wings of the four Beings. 



3 i8 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

The glassy sea is the aether specialized in the brain ; the aura of 
the chakras being represented by the seven torches or Breaths. 

Ch. iv. 9-1 1 

9 And as often as the Beings shall give glory, honor and thanks 
to the [God] seated on the throne, to him who lives throughout the 
aeons of the aeons, 10 the twenty- four Ancients shall fall down 
[successively] in front of the [God] seated on the throne, worship- 
ping him who lives throughout the aeons of the aeons, and letting 
fall their crowns in front of the throne, saying: 

11 "Worthy thou art, our Master and our God, to receive the 
glory, the honor and the force ; for thou didst bring into existence 
the universe, and through thy will it exists and was established." 

COMMENTARY 

The forces preside in turn over the time-periods; thus in the 
human aura a tattva rules each hour, its particular psychic color 
predominating in the aura during that time. Hence the Ancients 
are represented as worshipping before the throne, each making 
obeisance in turn and throwing down his crown, giving over his 
rule to the next. The Jewish priests were divided into twenty- f out- 
classes, or "courses," each of which in its turn officiated in the 
temple. 

II 

THE FIRST OF THE SEVENFOLD CONQUESTS— 
THE INITIATION BY THE LIVING WATER 

The Book of the Lesser Mysteries 
Chapter v. 1, 2 

1 I saw on the right hand of the [God] seated on the throne a 
scroll, written inside and on the back, securely sealed with seven 
seals. 2 And I saw a strong Divinity proclaiming with a great 
voice : 

"Who is worthy to open the scroll and force open its seals ?" 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 



319 



COMMENTARY 

The scroll is a mysterious document which it has taken the God 
aeons to write, a Bible which, when rightly read, discloses cosmic 
and divine mysteries. It is simply the human body, and its seals 
are the force-centres wherein radiates the for- 
mative force of the Logos. These seals are 
the same as the seven Societies and the lamp- 
stands. The expression "written inside and on 
the back" refers to the cerebro-spinal axis and 
the great sympathetic system. These psycho- 
physiological subjects pertained to the Lesser 
Mysteries. Seal 

The "strong Divinity," as shown by the attributive adjective, is 
the fifth Solar Regent, udana, the Lord of Time, the revealer of 
the secret instructions. 




The Chrestos Is Conqueror of the Seven Breaths 

Ch. v. 3-5 

3 Xo one — in the sky, on the earth, or under the earth — was able 
to open the scroll, or [even] to see it. 4 I wept much because no 
worthy one was found to open the scroll, or [even] to see it! 5 
One of the Ancients says to me : 

"Do not weep. Behold! the Lion, he of the tribe of Juda, the 
root of David, has conquered : [he is worthy] to open the scroll and 
its seven seals." 



COMMENTARY 

Here Ioannes indulges in one of the sarcastic hyperboles that are 
not infrequent in the Fourth Evangel. Those unable to open the 
chakras are usually ignorant of the fact that the body is the lyre of 
Apollon, the instrument of the Sun-Logos, and therefore do not 
see it in its real nature. Yet in his day spiritual blindness probably 
was less prevalent than in the present age, applied to which his 
statement becomes more nearly literal than hyperbolic. 



320 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

The Lion is, of course, Leo, which is also the sign of Juda. The 
"root" of man is his spiritual Self; for the mystical "tree of life," 
man, is the inverted ashvattha tree, which has its roots in the 
heavens and its branches on the earth : therefore "the root of Da- 
vid" is David reincarnated; but this should be taken in a mystical 
sense, as Iesous is a purely mythical personage, the hero of a Dio- 
nysiac drama whom the founders of Christianity metamorphosed 
into a Jewish Messiah, 

The Chrestos Receives the Sealed Book of the Lesser Mysteries 

Ci-i. v. 6, 7 

6 I saw in the midst of the throne and the four Beings, and in 
the midst of the Ancients, there was a little Ram standing, as if it 
had been sacrificed, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are 
the seven Breaths of the God, sent off into all the earth, y He came 
—he has taken [the scroll] from the right hand of [the God] seated 
on the throne ! 

COMMENTARY 

The Greek word arnion, which is etymologically akin to the 
Latin aries, signifies "a young ram," and as used in the text it is a 
variant of the zodiacal Ram, Krios. The word "lamb" is sup- 
posedly more poetic than "ram" ; but as the Lamb of the text is a 
male, the sense is the same. The Ram, Aries, is a reduplication of 
the Sun; and the "little Ram" here is identical with the "Lion of 
the tribe of Juda," since the sign Leo is the sole domicile of the 
Sun, and Aries is the place of his highest exalta- 
tion. Microcosmically, Leo corresponds to the 
sahasrdra chakra, the "third eye," and Aries to the 
nimbus, or cerebral radiance. This Ram is the 
Agnus Dei incarnated Nous, the intellectual Sun, which may 

be regarded as the Third Logos— man as he is on earth. The horns 
and eyes are the seven noetic powers of action and the seven noetic 
perceptive faculties. Thus the Ram represents the neophyte, whose 
inner nature is awakening, and who is about to undergo the per- 
fecting, or initiatory, ordeals. 




THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 



321 



Ch. v. 8-IO 

8 When he had taken the scroll, the four Beings and the twenty- 
four Ancients fell down in front of the Ram, having each a lyre 
and a golden libation-saucer full of incense-offerings, which are 
the prayers of the holy 
devotees. 9 And they 
chant a new lyric, say- 
ing: 

"Worthy art thou to 
take the scroll and to 
open its seals ; for thou 
wast sacrificed, and 
didst buy for the God 
with thy blood [the 
good qualities] from 
every tribe, tongue, na- 
tion and people, 10 
and didst make them 
[to be] a realm and 
sacrificers to our God; 
and they are ruling on 
the earth." 

COMMENTARY 



Each of the Ancients, 
as here described, has 
a saucer, the phiale, a 
discous cup used in 
pouring out drink-offer 
ings to the Gods, and also, like Apollon, has a lyre. 




Apollon 

The word 

kithara is more correctly rendered "lyre" than "harp"; for the 
kithara (whence the English words "cithern" and "guitar") differed 
but little from the lyra. The phiale symbolizes the chakra ("disk"), 
or ganglion, and the lyre the nerve-fibres connected with it. Each 
chakra has its distinctive quality, color, sound and incense-odor, all 



322 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

of which are perceivable by the psychic senses. The four symbols 
employed in the four conquests, the seal, the trumpet, the sickle and 
the libation-saucer, appropriately represent the chakras. 

The neophyte is worthy to take control of the marvellous psychic 
mechanism of the body, to "conquer" its chakras, tightening its 
slack organism till it is tense and vibrant as a lyre in the hands of 
a musician, because he has in many incarnations, in every nation 
and in many conditions of life, acquired the nobler characteristics 
of each and moulded them into a character — a kingdom, truly,— 
in which they are the ruling elements. 

The chorus of praise by the four Beings and the twenty- four An- 
cients is the first of the seven choruses in the drama. 

Ch. v. 11-14 

ill saw; and I heard a voice of many Divinities around the 
throne, the Beings and the Ancients — the number of them was 
myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, — 12 saying with 
a great voice : 

"Worthy is the sacrificed Ram to receive the force, wealth, skill, 
strength, honor, glory and praise." 

13 Every existent being which is in the sky, on the earth, under 
the earth, and on the sea — the universe summed up in them — I 
heard saying: 

"To the [God] seated on the throne, and to the Ram be the 
praise, the honor, the glory and the dominion throughout the aeons 
of the aeons !" 

14 And the four Beings said "Amen." And the twenty-four 
Ancients fell down and worshipped [the God]. 

COMMENTARY 

The three paeans chanted in praise of the Conqueror and his God 
are in accordance with the Greek custom of chanting paeans to 
Apollon, the Sun-God, before and after battle or before any solemn 
undertaking; and they are very appropriate here, since the Con- 
queror, the Lion-Ram, stands for the Nous, or microcosmic Sun, 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 323 

and having taken the scroll he is about to undergo the ordeals of 
initiation; and the word Iesous, which is but a mystery-name for 
the Nous, has a most suspicious resemblance to Ieios, the epithet 
applied to Apollon because he was invoked in the paeans by the reit- 
erated cry "Ie," hailing him as the "Savior." Iesous is probably 
Ieios raised to 888, the Gnostic Ogdoad (the manifested Logos) in 
triune form. In the Apocalypse, as also in the Gospels, Iesous (Dio- 
nysos) combines in himself the attributes of both Apollon and Her- 
mes. The latter was sometimes pictured riding a ram ; he is natu- 
rally associated with the sign Aries, of which Athena, the Goddess 
of Wisdom, is the Regent. 

The Apocalypse follows the style of the Greek tragedies in em- 
ploying choruses to divide the drama into acts. Of these three 
choral songs, the first is chanted by the Beings and the Ancients, 
and in the second the lesser Divinities join in; both these paeans 
being in praise of the sacrificial Ram ; while the third song is a 
general chorus by all the powers and potencies of the universe, the 
demigods of the four manifested elements, in praise of the Ram 
and the enthroned God. The first paean is merely explanatory, tell- 
ing why the neophyte is worthy to open the seals ; the second is an 
evocation of the potencies of the seven planets ; and the third is 
addressed to the four higher planets only. All this means simply 
that the practical student of the sacred science, the neophyte, is here 
engaged in the mystic meditation : with exalted mind and feeling 
he evokes the parakletos in its active form as the speircma, the ser- 
pent-force that opens the seven planetary centres, or "seven seals." 

The Regent of the Psychic Centre 
Chapter vi. i, 2 

1 I .saw, when the Ram opened one of the seven seals, and I 
heard one of the four Beings saying as with a voice of thunder : 

"Come!" 

2 I saw; and, behold! a white horse [came out]. The [Divin- 
ity] who was riding him had a bow ; to him was given a crown, and 
he came forth a conqueror, and that he might keep on conquering. 



324 



THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 



y 



COMMENTARY 



This seal is the adhishthana chakra, the prostatic, where the posi- 
tive and negative currents start. It corresponds to Sagittarius; 
hence its rider, or regent, is the Bowman. The Guardian-Goddess 
of this sign is Artemis, the Roman Diana, Apollon's sister, who was 




Apollon and Artemis 



After Flax man 



sometimes pictured as a bearded Goddess; together they represent 
the male-female or androgynous man. This chakra belongs to the 
lowest of the somatic divisions ; yet, as the white horse, that di- 
vision outranks the others, and the Bowman, Apollon-Artemis, is the 
Conqueror himself, who is here represented as starting out on his 
conquests, and who reappears in triumph in the closing scene of the 
drama. For the Logos, as mirrored in the material world, is in- 
verted. One of the northern paranatellons of Scorpio, the one now 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 325 

called Hercules, but which originally represented the Sun-God, is 
depicted upside down among the constellations. In the ancient rep- 
resentations of this solar hero he is armed with a bow and arrows. 

The Regent of the Creative Centre 
Ch. vi. 3, 4 

3 When he opened the second seal, I heard the second Being 
saying : 

"Come!" 

4 Another horse, fiery-red, came out. To the [Divinity] who 
was riding him [authority] was given to take away peace from the 
earth — that [men] should slaughter one another — and to him was 
given a great sword. 

COMMENTARY 

This seal is the epigastric chakra, and its sign is Scorpio, the 
house of Mars, the God of War and Generation. Scorpio is usually 
given as corresponding to the generative centres; but the real seat 
of the epithumetic nature is the solar plexus. The red horse repre- 
sents the abdominal somatic division, and its rider, or regent, who is 
passion personified, appears later in the drama in the role of the red 
Dragon, who is identified with Satan and Diabolos, the "Devil." 

The Regent of the Phrenic Centre 
Ch. vi. 5, 6 

5 When he opened the third seal, I heard the third Being saying : 
"Come!" 

I saw; and, behold! a black horse [came out]. The [Divinity] 
who was riding him had a balance in his hand. 6 I heard as it were 
a voice in the midst of the four Beings saying : 

"A ration of wheat for a denarius, and three rations of barley 
for a denarius — and do scant justice to the olive-oil and the wine!" 

COMMENTARY 

Here it is the cardiac chakra that is opened; it corresponds to 
Libra, an^ the regent of this somatic division is the Weigher, the 



2,26 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

discursive lower mind. Although no actual thinking process takes 
place in the heart, a distinction is drawn between the spiritual mind, 
or pure intellection, and the unspiritual mind, or that portion of the 
intellectual nature which is tainted by psychic emotions and carnal 
desires, or, in other words, between the mind that reflects the light 
which comes from above, from the Nous, and the mind that absorbs 
the influences that come from below, from the animal nature. This 
lower intellectual sphere may include the greatest culture, with 
admirable attainments in scientific research and in the acquisition 
of knowledge along conventional lines, yet with little or no spirit- 
ual insight or philosophic depth of thought; hence it is depicted in 
the allegory as a semi-famine, a scarcity of rations. The parsimo- 
nious Weigher who rides the black horse appears later in the drama 
as the Beast, the marine monster in whom fanciful theology sees 
the Anti-Christ. 

The Regent of the Noetic Centre 

Ch. vi. 7, 8 

7 When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the 
fourth Being, saying: 

"Come!" 

8 I saw; and, behold! a dun horse [came out]. The [Divinity] 
who was riding him— his name was Death, and Plouton went along 
with him. To them was given authority over the fourth of the 
earth, to kill with sword, famine and pestilence, and by the wild 
beasts of the earth. 

COMMENTARY 

The laryngeal chakra is the highest of the ones belonging strictly 
to the sympathetic system, the ones above it being in the brain. It 
is here given as the regent of the highest of the somatic divisions, 
the "sky," or rather the lower sky, for the cerebral region is termed 
in the Apocalypse the mid-sky, or zenith, as being the abode of the 
God. Plato, in the Phaidros (p. 253), employs in his allegory two 
horses, answering to the intellectual and the epithumetic natures, 



J 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 327 

the Nous being the charioteer; but usually the chariot of the Sun 
was pictured with four horses. The constellation Auriga, the 
Charioteer (Hcniochos), is the northern paranatellon of Taurus. 

The vocal apparatus is, mystically, the creative organ of the 
Logos ; and for this and other reasons the white and the dun horses 
are given with their attributes interchanged. The dun horse repre- 
sents the lowest of the somatic divisions; and as sex exists only in 
the physical and psychic worlds, the two, Death and Hades (Plou- 
ton), the generative principle on the two planes, are his riders, who 
slay with sword, famine, materialism and animal passions. They 
reappear later in the form of the two-horned bogus Lamb, who is 
called the Pseudo-Seer. 

The Regent of the Gnostic Centre 

Ch. vi. 9-1 1 

9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the 
souls of those who had been sacrificed because of the arcane doc- 
trine of the God, and because of the evidence which they had. 
10 They cried out with a loud voice, saying: 

"How long, O thou the Supreme, the Holy and the True, dost 
thou not judge and avenge our blood upon those who dwell on the 
earth?" 

11 White robes were given them severally, and it was said to 
them that they should keep still yet a little time, until their fellow- 
slaves and also their brothers, who would be killed even as they 
were, should have finished [their course]. 

COMMENTARY 

The fifth seal corresponds to the sign Cancer and the ajna chakra, 
or cavernous plexus, which latter is closely connected with the 
pituitary body, the membrum virile, so to say, of the brain. The 
atrophied (''sacrificed") brain-centres are partially aroused by the 
speirema at this stage; but they are suppressed until the other cen- 
tres (their "brothers") have all been brought into action and then 
"killed," that is, placed in abeyance while the cerebral centres are 



328 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

being awakened. They receive "white robes," however, for at this 
centre the currents bifurcate and their light suffuses the brain. 

During the cycle of reincarnation, all the chakras have been slain 
by the gross elements of the material, sensuous life; yet they retain 
the "evidence" of things spiritual. 

Although Leo precedes. Cancer, the order in which the chakras 
are awakened is different ; for Capricorn and Leo belong rather to 
the spinal axis than to the sympathetic system, and are the two poles 
of the former. 

The Regent of the Perfective Centre 
Ch. vi. 12-17 

12 I saw when he opened the sixth seal; and, behold! there came 
to be a great earthquake ; the sun became dark as a sack [woven of 
camel's] hair; the moon became as blood, 13 and the stars of the 
sky fell to the earth, as a fig-tree drops her first-crop figs when 
shaken by a violent wind. 14 The sky was removed like a scroll 
being rolled up; and every mountain and island — they were moved 
from their places! 15 The rulers of the earth, the very great, the 
commanders, the rich, and the mighty, and every slave and free- 
man, hid themselves in the caves and among the crags of the moun- 
tains ; 16 and they kept saying to the mountains and the crags : 

"Fall on us and hide us from the face of the [God] seated on the 
throne and from the passion of the Ram ! 17 For the great day of 
his passion has come, and who can stand firm ?" 

COMMENTARY 

This sixth seal is the mulddhara chakra, which lies at the base of 
the spinal cord and is the starting-point of the central current, the 
sushumna, the regenerative force, here called the orge ( fecundating 
energy) of the Ram, the Nous. Upon the outpouring of this fiery 
electric force into the brain, the mind becomes blank and the novice 
is conscious only of blind terror; this is allegorized as the darken- 
ing of the sun (the mind), the falling of the stars (the thoughts), 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 329 

the vanishing of the sky (the concept of space), and the panic of 
the earth-dwellers (the lower forces and faculties). 

The Five Solar Regents and the Differentiated Forces 
Chapter vii. 1-3 

1 After these [ordeals] I saw four Divinities standing at the 
four corners of the earth, dominating the four winds of the earth 
so that no wind should blow on the earth or the sea, or on any tree. 
2 And I saw another [dominant] Divinity ascend from the birth- 
place of the sun, having the signet-ring of the living God; and he 
cried out with a great voice to the four Divinities to whom [author- 
ity] was given to punish the earth and the sea, 3 saying : 

"Do not treat roughly the earth, the sea or the trees till we shall 
have sealed [with his signet-ring] the slaves of our God on their 
foreheads." 

COMMENTARY 

These five Divinities are the noetic Regents or the pranas, the 
solar life-winds. They are represented in the zodiac by the signs 
Gemini, Taurus, Aries, Pisces and Aquarius, with their respective 
planets. The four who guard the quarters are the four powers of 
the Nous; and the fifth, who rises up from the sun's place of birth 
(anatole), is the representative of the Nous himself, and therefore 
bears the signet of the Life-God. They correspond to the "five 
bright powers" of the Upanishads, four of which are regents of the 
four directions of space, while the fifth "goes upward to immortal- 
ity." It is these noetic forces that record in the aura of man (his 
"scroll of life") his every thought and deed; and, as these auric 
impressions, like phonographic records, automatically reproduce the 
original thoughts and emotions whenever the forces again act upon 
them, they thus produce an almost endless concatenation of cause 
and effect, of retributive action. Therefore, by awakening the oc- 
cult forces of his nature the neophyte invokes this iron law of 
retribution, and all the good and evil elements of his nature are 
arrayed against each other for the final conflict. In the allegory 



330 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

the lower principles are to be chastised, and the higher ones are to 
be given the seal of the God's approval. 

The command to the four Regents not to treat roughly (literally, 
"injure") the earth, sea and trees refers to the state of unruffled 
calm which must be maintained during the mystic meditation. 

The spinal section (consisting of five ankylosed vertebrae), 
which is termed the os sacrum, "sacred bone," hieron osteon, as it 
was termed by the Greeks, is in Rabbinical legends called lus, and 
said to be the indestructible germ from which the human form is 
reconstructed at the resurrection. 

Ch. vii. 4-8 

4 I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred and 
forty-four thousand, sealed out of all the tribes of the children of 
Israel : 5 of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand; of the 
tribe of Reuben, twelve thousand ; of the tribe of Gad, twelve thou- 
sand ; 6 of the tribe of Asher, twelve thousand; of the tribe of 
Naphtali, twelve thousand; of the tribe of Manasseh, twelve thou- 
sand ; 7 of the tribe of Simeon, twelve thousand ; of the tribe of 
Levi, twelve thousand; of the tribe of Issachar, twelve thousand; 
8 of the tribe of Zebulon, twelve thousand; of the tribe of Joseph, 
twelve thousand; and of the tribe of Benjamin, twelve thousand. 

COMMENTARY 

The tribes stand for the twelve signs of the zodiac, Juda for Leo, 
Reuben for Aquarius, Gad for Aries, etc.; but as here given by 
Ioannes, Joseph is substituted for Ephraim, or Taurus ; and Manas- 
seh, Joseph's first-born son, replaces Dan, who is Scorpio. This 
omission of Dan, with the substitutions by which Scorpio is shown 
to be derived from Taurus, is significant ; for Taurus is the symbol 
of celestial creative force, and Scorpio that of the generative func- 
tion. The Divinities charged with the seven scourges are, astro- 
nomically, the seven Hyades, a star-group in the constellation Tau- 
rus. There was a Jewish tradition that from the tribe of Dan was 
to come the Anti-Messias ; hence the substitution of the paranatellon 
Aquila for Scorpio. 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 331 

The Liberated Psychic Forces— The Pure Ones Risen from 
the Great Sea of Life 

Ch. vii. 9-12 

9 After these [things] I saw; and, behold! a vast multitude, 
which no one could count, from among every people, and of [all] 
tribes, nations and tongues, [were] standing before the throne and 
before the Ram, wearing white robes and [carrying] palm-branches 
in their hands. 10 They kept crying out with a great voice, saying : 

"The deliverance is to our God who is sitting on the throne, and 
to the Ram !" 

11 All the Divinities were standing in a circle about the throne, 
the Ancients and the four Beings ; they fell on their faces in front 
of the throne, and worshipped the God, 12 saying: 

"Amen. The praise, the glory, the skill, the thanks, the honor, 
the force and the strength be to our God throughout the aeons of 
the aeons! Amen." 

COMMENTARY 

This is the third of the seven choruses; the paean, or verse of 
praise, is chanted by the liberated elements, and the chorus by the 
ruling powers of the three worlds — the Beings, Ancients and Di- 
vinities forming three concentric circles about the throne, and thus 
representing as many planes of manifestation. In the benediction 
the attributes of all the seven planets are ascribed to the Sun-God. 

Ch. vii. 13-17 

13 One of the ancients responded, saying to me: 

"These who are wearing the white robes— who are they, and 
whence did they come?" 

14 I said to him: 

"My Master, you know." 

He said to me : 

"These are the [Conquerors] coming out of the great ordeal. 
They washed their robes and bleached them in the Ram's blood. 
15 Because of this, they are before the throne of the God; and they 



332 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

are serving him day and night in his adytum, and the [Master] 
seated on the throne will spread his tent-temple over them. 16 They 
will hunger no more, thirst no more; neither will [the rays of] the 
sun beat down on them, nor any scorching heat. 17 For the Ram 
who is in the middle of the throne will shepherd them and guide 
them to springs of waters of life, and the God will wipe away every 
tear from their eyes." 

COMMENTARY 

The great ordeal of the soul, or Logos, is its incarceration in the 
carnal body, not merely for the term of one short lifetime, but dur- 
ing a long series of incarnations throughout the aeons of genera- 
tion; but the Logos has its own mighty purpose in thus crucifying 
itself by assuming the human form, descending into the spheres of 
generation and passing through the vast "cycle of necessity" : it 
builds up for itself, out of the elements of the lower worlds, an 
outer self, a being formed of the "dust of the earth," the refuse of 
past cycles, yet having within it the breath of the God; and then by 
unremitting toil throughout the aeons it refines and transmutes the 
elements of this creature (who is the carnal, animal-human man) 
until it redeems it and it becomes one with the divine individuality. 
These purified and redeemed principles of the lower self are the 
countless host who, now that the aspirant has entered upon f he cycle 
of initiation, the final "perfecting" or "finishing" labor, are coming 
out of "the great ordeal," singing paeans of praise to the sacrificial 
Ram, the Crucified, and to the enthroned Self, the Eternal, who is 
beyond change and time, and therefore "uncrucified." 

The Regent of the Divine Centre 

Chapter viii. i 

1 When he opened the seventh seal, there came to be silence in 
the sky for about half an hour. 

COMMENTARY 

The seventh seal is the sahasrdra chakra, to which corresponds 
the sign Leo, the sole domicile of the Sun. This chakra, the co- 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 333 

narium, or pineal body, is the "third eye" of the seer — that, and 
much more. It is the focal point of all the forces of the nervous 
system and of the aura; here they come to an equilibrium, and here 
reigns the mystic Silence. During the meditation, as each chakra 
is awakened the neophyte sees its corresponding psychic color ; and 
at this seventh centre the colors intermingle as in an opal, with an 
incessant glittering of white light playing as on the facets of a 
diamond. The psychic senses of smell and hearing begin to be 
aroused, so that odors as of incense become perceptible, and mys- 
terious sounds are heard ; then with a shock that Ioannes here com- 
pares to an earthquake the forces start upon the circuit of the seven 
brain-centres, each of which, when the current reaches it, produces a 
vibrant sound in the aura, the "trumpet-call" of the allegory. This 
awakening of the centres is the second of the four conquests. 



Ill 

THE SECOND OF THE SEVENFOLD CONQUESTS — 
THE INITIATION BY THE MIGHTY AIR 

The Conquest of the Psychic Principle 

Ch. viii. 2-y 

2 I saw the seven Divinities who stand before the God. To them 
were given seven trumpets. 3 Came another Divinity and stationed 
himself above the altar, having a golden censer; and to him was 
given much incense, that he might offer it, with the prayers of all 
the devotees, upon the golden altar in front of the throne. 4 The 
smoke of the incense, with the prayers of the devotees, went up in 
front of the God out of the Divinity's hand. 5 The Divinity took 
the censer and filled it with the fire of the altar, and cast [the fire] 
into the earth : there came to be voices, thunders, lightnings and an 
earthquake. 6 The seven Divinities having the seven trumpets 
made themselves ready to give the trumpet-calls. 

7 The first [Divinity] gave the trumpet-call. There came to be 
hail and fire, mixed with blood; they were cast into the earth, and 



334 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

the third of the earth was burnt up, the third of the trees was burnt 
up, and all pale-green grass was burnt up. 

COMMENTARY 

The sounding of the trumpets follows the exact order of the 
opening of the seals; and the two series correspond throughout, the 
zodiacal signs being repeated as related to the brain-centres. 
<<r-gs> Of the four planes of consciousness, the fourth, the 
\t physical, was stilled, or temporarily suppressed, by the 
opening of the "seals," and the psychic became active ; now, 
by the awakening of the noetic centres the psychic con- 
sciousness — "the third" — is in turn placed in abeyance. 
The colors manifested by the centres of the sympathetic 
system are psychic ; the sounds heard upon the opening of 
the brain-centres pertain to a higher plane. 

The "hail" is a semi-condensation of the lunar element, 
or aether, "the good water of the Moon" ; the "fire" is the 
solar force, "the good fire of the Sun" ; and the "blood" is 
the auric fluid, "the blood of the Logos." These three 
elements affect the lowest of the divisions; the "trees" are 
the "two olive-trees" (the dual tree of life), and the "grass" is the 
radiation of the same force through the aureola. They are, of 
course, the threefold speircma, starting on its course through the 
brain. In Luke xii. 49 Iesous says, "I have come to sow (cast) fire 
in the earth." Dionysos was called "the sower of fire-seed," "the 
fire-thunderer," "the spirit that roars in high flame," and "the leader 
of the band of fire-breathing planets." 

The Conquest of the Epithumetic Principle 

Ch. viii. 8, 9 

8 The second Divinity gave the trumpet-call. [The world- 
navel], like a great flaming mountain of fire, was cast into the sea; 
and the third of the sea came to be blood. 9 The third of the ex- 
istent beings in the sea — having souls — died; and the third of the 
ships were wrecked. 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 335 

COMMENTARY 

In most of the ancient mythologies some particular place, usually 
a mountain or volcano, was designated as the navel, or true centre, 
of the earth. The active volcano of the text is evidently the same 
symbol. The navel is the seat of the tejas ("fire") tattva, manifested 
in the lower phase as desire, and in the higher as will. Intense long- 
ing becomes objectivized in the subtile elements, the external forms 
thus created being ensouled by the dominant desires that called them 
into existence. A congeries of these illusionary forms sent out into 
the psychic sea is a "ship" in the language of the allegory. 

The Conquest of the Pseudo-Rational Principle 

Ch. viii. 10, 11 

10 The third Divinity gave the trumpet-call. There fell from 
the sky a great star flaming like a torch. It fell on the third of the 
rivers and on the springs of waters. 11 The name of the star is 
called "Wormwood" ; and the third of the waters became worm- 
wood, and many of the men died of the waters, because they were 
made bitter. 

COMMENTARY 

The falling star is Aphrodite (Venus), rj Qcocr^opo*; (Lucifer), 
the torch-bearing Goddess. The force it here symbolizes, the vayu 
tattva, affects the lower mind, or rational mind befogged by the 
desires and passions of the emotional psychic nature ; and the em- 
bittering of the waters alludes to the psychological law that ali 
pleasure eventually reacts and becomes pain; yet, in the end, this 
bitter water becomes transmuted into the "sweet water of life" 
when man's nature is purified. 

The Conquest of the Pseudo-Noetic Principle 

H. VIII. 12 

12 The fourth Divinity gave the trumpet-call. The third of the 
sun was stricken, also the third of the mron and the third of the 



336 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

stars, so that the third of them should be darkened, and the day 
should not give light for the third of it, and likewise the night. 

COMMENTARY 

All mental action is here suspended on the psychic or subjective 
plane, as well as on the material or objective. On each plane, in 
turn, the forces have to be brought into equilibrium, so that they 
neutralize each other, and then the consciousness rises to the next 
higher plane. 

The force pertaining to this centre is the akasha tattva; cos- 
mically it is the upper air, aither, the region of the heavenly bodies. 

Ch. viii. 13 

13 I saw; and I heard the lone Eagle, flying in mid-sky, saying 
with a great voice : 

"Woe, woe, woe to those dwelling on the earth, from the remain- 
ing trumpet-voices of the three Divinities who are about to give the 
trumpet-call!" 

COMMENTARY 

The first four cerebral chakras (symbolized by the trumpets) 
react upon the four somatic divisions; the three higher ones are 
related to the dual nervous system and the aura, broadly speaking ; 
but in a more special sense they are analogues of the male creative 
triad. Comment on this subject, which is a delicate one, though 
involving nothing that is in the slightest degree impure, must be 
necessarily brief and somewhat superficial in a work that is de- 
signed for general circulation. As has already been pointed out, the 
lower man is an inverted image of the higher; and from this it fol- 
lows that the highest spiritual centres are directly related to the low- 
est, the creative centres on the material plane. For this reason the 
three trumpet-calls are announced as "woes" by the Eagle, the 
fourth of the Zoa, who is the prototype of Scorpio. It can not be 
too emphatically reiterated that the sex- function exists only in the 
physical and psychic worlds ; and the impure forces related to it are 
not employed in any way or for any purpose whatever by the fol- 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 337 

lowers of the Gnosis. The abuse of this function by diverting the 
procreative forces into psychic channels is the most terrible of all 
crimes, the punishment of which by natural law is the annihilation 
of the individuality, the "second death" ; for the connecting link 
between the divine and the human soul is destroyed by the abnormal 
practices of phallic sorcery. No one should attempt to make any 
practical use of the subtile forces unless he is firmly resolved to 
renounce forever the "spheres of generation." To utilize the gross 
forces of the animal nature for psychic purposes is to commit moral 
suicide. It is only the celibates, who preserve the utmost purity of 
mind and body, thereby regaining the complete innocence of "little 
children," who can hope to "enter the kingdom of heaven." 

The Conquest of the Pseudo-Gnostic Principle 
Chapter ix. 1-12 

1 The fifth Divinity gave the trumpet-call. I saw a star that had 
fallen from the sky to the earth; and to him was given the key 
to the crater of the abyss. 2 He opened the crater of the abyss, and 
there went up smoke from the crater, like the smoke of a great fur- 
nace. The sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the 
crater. 3 Out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and to 
them was given power as the scorpions of the earth have power. 
4 It was said to them that they should not injure the grass of the 
earth, neither anything tender green nor any tree, but only those 
men who do not have the seal of the God on their foreheads ; 5 and 
[the command] was given them that they should not kill them, but 
that they should be tormented five months. Their torment was as 
a scorpion's torment when it stings a man. 6 In those days men 
will seek death, and find it not , they will long to die, and death will 
keep fleeing from them ! 7 The effigies of the locusts were like 
horses caparisoned for battle. On their heads were [circlets] like 
crowns of spurious gold. Their faces were like men's faces, 8 but 
they had hair like women's hair; and their teeth were like [the 
teeth] of lions. 9 They had cuirasses like iron cuirasses. The voice 
of their wings was like the voice of [many] war-chariots — of many 



338 



THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 



horses galloping into battle. 10 They had tails like scorpions, and 
stings were in their tails. Their power to injure men was five 
months, u They had over them as ruler the Divinity of the 
Abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek [mysti- 
cism] he has the name Apollyon. 

12 The one woe has passed. Behold! two more woes are com- 
ing after. 

COMMENTARY 

The star that has fallen is 
Venus, now become the so-called 
"infernal Lucifer," the Hekate 
who presides over the abyss. 
This abyss is represented astro- 
nomically by the constellation 
Crater, the Cup, the mixing-bowl 
of Dionysos. It appears also in 
the Apocalypse as the cup held 
by the Woman in scarlet, who 
simply is Hekate, the infernal 
aspect of both Aphrodite (Ve- 
nus) and Artemis (Diana), the 
two Goddesses alike symbolizing 
the primordial substance, the 
Arche. 

The Divinity of the Abyss, 
who is the "Destroyer" and the 
"Murderer," is the Pseudo-Lion, 
the Beast — the phrenic mind pol- 
luted by the carnal passions ; and 
his hordes of scorpion-like cav- 
alry are impure and unholy 
thoughts. The "five months" are 
the summer-time, during which 
period the passional nature is more active; mystically the summer 
is said to be the night of the soul, and winter its day. 




Artemis 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 339 

The Conquest of the Perfective Principle — The 
Four Manifested Solar Powers 

Ch. ix. 13-15 

13 The sixth Divinity gave the trumpet-call. I heard a single 
voice from the four horns of the golden altar in front of the God, 
14 [the Master's voice], saying to the sixth Divinity, who had the 
trumpet : 

"Turn loose the four Divinities who are fettered at the great 
river Euphrates." 

15 The four Divinities were turned loose, who had been made 
ready throughout the hour, day, month and year, that they should 
kill the third of men. 

COMMENTARY 

The golden altar is the Xous, or higher mind, and the four horns 
are its four powers. Gold is the metal of the sun, and the four- 
horned altar is but a different symbol for the sun and the regents 
of the four quarters. The four Divinities fettered at the river 
Euphrates (the cerebro-spinal axis) are the four manifested pranas, 
and the "single voice" represents ndana. 

Ch. ix. 16-21 

16 The number of the armies of the horsemen [under the com- 
mand of the four Divinities] was two hundred million — I heard 
the number of them. 17 Thus I saw the horses in the vision, and 
their riders, having cuirasses fiery [red], smoky blue and sulphur- 
ous [yellow] : the heads of the horses were like the heads of lions, 
and from their mouths kept going out fire, smoke and sulphur. 

18 By these three scourges were killed the third of the men — by 
the fire, the smoke and the sulphur which went out of their mouths. 

19 For the powers of the horses are in their mouths and in their 
tails ; for their tails are like snakes, and have heads, and with them 
they inflict punishment. 20 The rest of the men, who were not 
killed by these scourges, did not reform from the works of their 
hands, that they should not worship the spirits and the images of 



340 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood, which can neither see, hear 
nor walk. 21 And they did not reform from their murders, their 
sorceries, their prostitutions or their thefts. 

COMMENTARY 

The vast armies of horsemen in armor represent the limitless 
powers of the Nous; the lion-heads of the horses indicating their 
solar character. As the Mind is the real man, so in the allegory the 
intellectual powers and thoughts are represented as men, the armies 
of the Nous destroying the evil, false, superstitious thoughts and 
tendencies of the psychic nature; and as the thoughts of the carnal 
mind are concerned largely with material possessions, such thoughts 
are referred to as worshippers of idols. 

The Unmanifested Solar Power, and the Open Book of 
the Greater Mysteries 

Chapter x. 1-4 

1 I saw another, the strong Divinity, coming down out of the 
sky, wrapped in a cloud, and a rainbow was upon his head. His 
face was [luminous]' like the sun, and his feet like pillars of fire. 
2 In his hand he had a little scroll unrolled. He placed his right 
foot on the sea, and the left on the earth, 3 and cried out with a 
great voice, as a lion roars ; and when he cried out, seven thunders 
uttered voices of their own. 4 And when the seven thunders 
uttered [their voices], I was about to write down [the teachings] ; 
but I heard a voice from the sky saying to me : 

"Seal up [the teachings] which the seven thunders uttered, and 
do not write them down." 

COMMENTARY 

The Divinity, the fifth in the group, is udana, the "upward life- 
wind," and therefore corresponds to the Nous, the intellectual Sun, 
in its aspect as Hermes the Initiator. This fivefold group is the 
same as that which appeared upon the opening of the sixth seal, 
save that here the five pranas are energizing on a higher plane. 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 341 

That the voices of the seven thunders were mystery-teachings is 
evident from the injunction by the Initiator against recording them. 
They relate to the seven vowels. 

Ch. x 5-7 

5 The Divinity whom I saw standing on the sea and on the earth 
raised his right hand to the sky 6 and swore by the [God] who 
lives throughout the aeons of the aeons, who brought into existence 
the sky and what is in it, the earth and what is in it, and the sea and 
what is in it, that Time shall be no more, 7 but in the days of the 
voice of the seventh Divinity, when he is about to give the trumpet- 
call, also is made perfect the Mystery of the God, as he proclaimed 
to his slaves, the seers. 

COMMENTARY 

Time, the "image of eternity," rules in the physical and psychic 
worlds, the earth and the sea of the allegory; but in the spiritual 
world, the mystic "sky," there is the timeless, eternal consciousness 
of the God. The seventh trumpet-call signalizes the opening of 
that "Mystery of the God," the "eye" of the seer, which is made 
perfect, that is, restored to its spiritual functions, by the action of 
the speirema. 

Ch. x. 8-1 1 

8 The voice that I heard from the sky— [I heard it] again speak- 
ing with me, and saying : 

"Go; take the little scroll unrolled in the hand of the Divinity 
who is standing on the sea and on the earth." 

9 I went to the Divinity, and asked him to give me the little scroll. 
He said to me : 

"Take it, and eat it up. It will make your belly bitter; but in 
your mouth it will be sweet as honey." 

10 I took the little scroll from the hand of the Divinity, and ate it 
up. In my mouth it Avas as honey, sweet ; but when I had eaten it my 
belly was made bitter. 1 1 And [the voices of the seven thunders] 
keep saying to me : 



342 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

"You must teach again in opposition to many nations, peoples, 
tongues and rulers." 

COMMENTARY 

The little scroll is the Gnosis, imparted to the neophyte by the 
Initiator— his own Logos. When the instruction is assimilated, 
that is, carried out in practice, it becomes bitter to the epithumetic 
nature, since it inculcates the extirpation of every impure thought 
and desire. 

Although forbidden to record the utterances of the seven thun- 
ders (the theurgic teachings), the seer is under an obligation to 
proclaim the true philosophy and ethics in opposition to the popu- 
lar dogmas of the exoteric religions. In his conquest of self, ever 
striving to become divinely unselfish, he is not acquiring knowledge 
merely for his own benefit. His higher nature ever keeps prompting 
him to share with others, as far as he may, the knowledge he gains, 
and to bear witness of the sacred truths, though by so doing he 
I necessarily opposes the errors of "orthodox" religion. 

The Dual Manifesting Power of the Nous 

Chapter xi. 1-3 

1 There was given me a reed like a wand, and [the sixth Divin- 
ity] said: 

"Rouse thee, and measure the adytum of the God, the altar, and 
those worshipping in it; 2 but the court which is exterior to the 
adytum cast out as exoteric, and do not measure it ; for it has been 
given to the people, and the holy city they shall trample on for 
forty-two months. 3 I shall give it [after that] to my two wit- 
nesses, and they will teach one thousand two hundred and sixty 
days, clothed in gunny-sacks." 

COMMENTARY 

The naos, here translated adytum, was the inner temple, or sanc- 
tuary, where the God was enshrined, and to which none but the 
initiated had access; when employed for initiatory rites it was 
usually called the adyton. Symbolically, the adytum is the spiritual 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 



343 



nature, and the altar the intellectual; astronomically, it is, as Jo- 
sephus and other ancient writers said, the sky. But in the psycho- 
physiological rendering of the symbolism the adytum, the altar of 
sacrifice and the altar of incense are the three divisions of the brain, 
and the outer court is the 
body. The worshippers are 
the forty-nine forces, which 
are "measured" by being 
arranged in hierarchies, or 
groups, as shown on page 
281. The "wand" is the 
caduceus of Hermes, who 
here, as elsewhere in the 
Apocalypse, is the hiero- 
phant, or divine instructor, 
of Ioannes. 

The period of initiation 
is here placed at seven 
years, during the first 
half of which (forty-two 
months, or three and one- 
half years) the lower forces 
continue to rule the func- 
tions of the body, while in 
the latter half (one thou- 
sand two hundred and sixty 
days, again three and one- 
half years) the dual electric 
force, tola and pingala, the 
"two witnesses," will per- 
vade the nervous system, 
gradually and almost imperceptibly replacing the ordinary nerve- 
force, a subdued action which is expressed in the allegory by their 
being wrapped in gunny-sacks. 

The measuring of the adytum and the account of the two wit- 




Hermes 



After Flaxman 



344 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

nesses have nothing to do with the action of the drama, but are 
merely explanatory. 

Ch. xi. 4-6 

4 These are the two olive-trees, and two little lampstands, stand- 
ing before the God of the earth. 5 If any one wills to use them 
wrongfully, fire comes out of their mouth and devours their ene- 
mies ; and if any one shall will to use them wrongfully, in this way 
must he be killed. 6 These [witnesses] have authority to shut the 
sky, so that rain may not shower down during the days of their 
teaching; also they have authority over the waters, to transmute 
them into blood, and to chastise the earth with every retribution, 
as often as they will. 

COMMENTARY 

Zechariah (iv. 2 et seq.) goes more into detail concerning the two 
olive-trees and the lampstands that stand before the Earth-God: 
"I have seen; and, behold! a candlestick all of gold, with its bowl 
upon the top of it, and its seven lamps thereon; there are seven 
pipes to each of the lamps, which are upon the top thereof : and two 
olive-trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other 
upon the left side thereof." These are the cerebral chakras and 
their nadis; and, as they are very small and seemingly unimportant, 
he continues : "For who hath despised the day of small things? For 
they [the seven] shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand 
of Zerubbabel, even these seven [which are] the eyes of Jehovah; 
they run to and fro through the whole earth." The plummet of 
Zerubbabel, who was the builder of the temple, is the pituitary or- 
gan, which controls the growth of the entire body. As modern 
physiologists have demonstrated, the disease called gigantism, in 
which the body or any of its members grow to abnormal size, is due 
to the over-activity and enlargement of the pituitary. It is the crea- 
tive organ of the brain; and when energized by the speirema its 
pulsating aura takes on a swinging motion, like a plummet, until it 
impinges on the conarium, "the unpaired eye," impregnating it with 
the golden force and arousing the spiritual faculties. This action 
is further described by Zechariah, who says that "the two olive- 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 345 

trees" and "the two olive branches which are beside the two golden 
spouts, that empty the golden [oil] out of themselves" are "the two 
anointed ones, that stand by the Lord of the whole earth." 

The dual fire is destructive to the unpurified psychic or sorcerer 
who may succeed in arousing it, and its wrongful use results in 
moral as well as physical death. 

By "rain" the nerve-fluid is symbolized; "water" is the mag- 
netic, auric substance, and "blood" the golden electric fire. The 
"chastisement" of the earth is described, later on in the drama, as 
the pouring out of seven retributions by the seven Taurine Divini- 
ties, the Hyades, or "Rainers." These stars are the seven planets 
reduplicated, as also are other stellar groups of seven in the various 
constellations. 

Ch. xi. 7 

7 When they shall have finished giving their evidence, the Beast 
who comes up out of the abyss will battle with them, conquer them, 
and kill them. 

COMMENTARY 

When the trance is ended, and the neophyte returns to the ordi- 
nary state of consciousness on the material plane, the kundalim re- 
cedes to the "throne of the Beast," the solar plexus, where it is said 
in the Upanishads to lie coiled up like a slumbering serpent, having 
three and a half coils, corresponding to the three and a half meas- 
ures of the Aum. 

Ch. xi. 8, 9 

8 Their corpses [are now lying] in the main-street of the great 
city which mystically is called "Sodom" and "Egypt," where also 
their Master was crucified. 9 And [some] from among the na- 
tions, tribes, tongues and peoples are guarding their corpses three 
and a half days, and will not permit their dead bodies to be placed 
in a sepulchre. 

COMMENTARY 

The city is the physical body, and its main-street is the spinal 
cord, in which are the channels of the threefold speirema, the two 



346 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

witnesses and their Master, "the Witness Believable and True"; 
and these channels — the "corpses" of the witnesses — are preserved 
from complete atrophy by those nerve-currents which, in each of 
the four somatic divisions, circulate through the cerebro-spinal sys- 
tem. The three and a half days are the latter half of the seven 
"days of creation," the gross material arc of the cycle of human 
evolution, during which the "witnesses" are lying moribund in the 
physical body, mystically termed "Sodom," the sinful city, and 
"Egypt," a country which, although once a great centre of learning 
and enlightenment, had become a land of darkness. 

The formula "nations, tribes, tongues, and peoples" is given seven 
times in the Apocalypse, but the words are never twice in the same 
order; in one instance (x. n) "rulers" is substituted for "tribes," 
and in another (xvii. 15) "multitudes" for the same. They apply 
to the four castes, or classes of mankind, who in oriental mysticism 
are said to have been born from the four somatic divisions of the 
Deity : men of learning, warriors, commercialists and laborers. 

Iesous, the Nous, is here said to have been crucified in Sodom, 
also called Egypt : this is the first crucifixion, the incarnation of the 
soul in the physical body, which is then its cross. The second is in 
Calvaria (kranion), on the cross of initiation. The two crosses 
are, astronomically, the autumnal and the vernal equinox. The 
cross is a symbol that has many meanings. 

Ch. xi. 10-14 

10 Those who dwell on the earth are rejoicing over them and 
are exultant; and they will send bribes to one another — for those 
two seers did torment those who are dwelling on the earth ! 1 1 
After the three and a half days the Breath of Life from the God 
entered into them ; they stood on their feet, and great terror over- 
came those who beheld them. 12 They heard a great voice from 
the sky saying to them : 

"Come up hither." 

They went up into the sky in the cloud ; and their enemies beheld 
them. 13 In that hour there came to be a great earthquake, and the 
tenth of the city fell, and there were killed by the earthquake seven. 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 347 

thousand names of men ; the rest became frightened, and gave glory 
to the God of the sky. 

14 The second woe has^passed. Behold! the third woe is coming 
speedily. 

COMMENTARY 

The rebuking voice of conscience, which is the voice of the Nous 
speaking through the "two witnesses," is the real tormentor of the 
evilly disposed, who seek ever to stifle it ; and the man who is thus 
trying to silence his accusing conscience can not be mentally hon- 
est with himself, but acts from feigned motives, his desires and 
thoughts bribing one another, as the allegory puts it. But as the 
individual emerges from the materialistic stage of his evolution, 
the noetic faculties "awaken from the dead," and the base passional 
nature, symbolized by the tenth of the twelve zodiacal divisions, 
perishes, with its seven heads, for it is identified with the seven- 
headed red Dragon. The seven is multiplied by the indefinite num- 
ber one thousand to indicate the many correlations of these lower 
principles, the "men," whose "names" are their psychic colors, 
which are obliterated, the remaining colors becoming brighter in 
the auric "glory" of the Sky-God. 

The Conquest of the Divine Principle 
Ch. xi. 15-18 

15 The seventh Divinity gave the trumpet-call. There came to 
be great voices in the sky, saying : 

"The realm of the universe has become [the realm] of our Mas- 
ter and of his Anointed, and he shall reign throughout the aeons of 
the aeons." 

16 The twenty-four Ancients who are seated before the God on 
their thrones fell on their faces and worshipped the God, 17 saying : 

"We give thanks to thee, the Master-God, the All-Dominator, 
who [forever] art, and who wast, because thou hast taken thy 
great force and regained sovereignty. 18 The people grew pas- 
sionate; and thy passion came, and the season of the dead to be 



348 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

judged, and [the season] to give their recompense to thy slaves the 
seers, to the devotees, and to those who fear thy name, the young 
and the old, and to destroy those who are destroying the earth." 

COMMENTARY 

The seventh of the mystic "spiritual sounds" signalizes the awak- 
ening of the highest of the chakras, the centres through which radi- 
ates the Light of the Logos. The passion of the God is not his 
"wrath," but is the creative energy of the Logos, the "great force" 
(dynamis) which produces the "birth from above"; and it is here 
placed in contrast with the passions that "are destroying the earth." 
For here the holy Power has replaced the generative force. 

The chorus by the sky-voices and the Ancients is the fourth of 
the series. 

The Birthplace of the Sun-God 

Ch. xi. 19 

19 The adytum of the God in the sky was opened, and in his 
adytum was seen the ark [containing the emblems] of his compact; 
and there came to be lightnings, voices, thunders, an earthquake 
and great hail. 

COMMENTARY 

The word kibotos, properly meaning a wooden box, or coffer, is 
applied in the New Testament to the ark in the temple, as here, and 
also to the Noachian ark. The constellation Argo Navis, the celes- 
tial Ship, situated to the south of Virgo, was also called kibotos and 
"Noah's Ark." As exoteric exponents of phallicism are fond of 
pointing out, the ark is a symbol of the womb, the place of birth — 
which is perfectly true if it is regarded as merely a concrete symbol. 
But esoterically it has no such phallic significance, but stands for 
the exact opposite, the place of spiritual rebirth, the emergence into 
immortality. All mysticism aside, it symbolizes the womb in the 
brain, the latter being an androgynous organ wherein is immacu- 
lately conceived the permanent spiritual vehicle, the solar body. But 
the celestial Ship represents the psychic body. 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 



349 



The Mighty Mother and Her Solar Son 

Chapter xii. i, 2 

1 A great constellation was seen in the sky : a [winged] Woman 
clothed with the sun, the moon underneath her feet, and on her 
head a crown of twelve stars. 2 She had [a babe] in her womb — 
and she kept crying out, in the pangs of child-birth, racked with 
pain of parturition. 

COMMENTARY 

The seventh trumpet-call is the sound heard when the conarium 
is energized, and the latter corresponds to the sign Leo, the house 
of the Sun; but the constellation here disclosed is triadic, including 
in the symbol the signs Virgo (the house of Mercury), Leo and 
Cancer (the domicile of the Moon). Thus associated, Virgo fig- 
ures as the Virgin Mother, who immaculately 
conceives and gives birth to the Son of the 
God ; whereas, taken in combination with Libra 
(the house of Venus) and Scorpio (the house 
of Mars), she becomes the scarlet prostitute, 
the symbol of carnal generation. As the World- 
Mother, the White Virgin of the Skies, whether 
railed Diana, Demeter, the mother of Dionysos, 
or Mariam, the mother of Iesous, she is the 
pure aether, the Logos-Light, or primordial 
force-substance ; and as the Fallen Woman, the 
Queen of the Abyss, she is the parturient 
energy of nature, the basis of physical life, 
and as such she is named in the Apocalypse Sodom, Babylon and 
Egypt, merely to make her threefold like her celestial prototype, 
for in reality she includes all cities and countries inhabited by sinful 
mankind. 

The word semeion (the synonym of sema), in the Greek text, is 
the correct technical word for "constellation." 

Virgo was always pictured with wings ; and later in the text she 
has the two wings of the Eagle. 




Virgo 



350 



THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 



The Lust for Physical Life 

Ch. xii. 3-6 

3 Another constellation was seen in the sky— and, behold! a 
great fiery-red Dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and on 
his heads seven diadems. 4 His tail was trailing along the third of 
the stars of the sky and kept throwing them to the earth. The 
Dragon was standing in front of the Woman who was on the verge 
of parturition, so that as soon as she gave birth he might devour 
her child. 5 She gave birth to a son, virile, who is destined to shep- 
herd all the people with an iron wand ; and her child was snatched 
up to the God and to his throne. 6 The Woman fled into the des- 
ert, where she has a place made ready by the God, that there [the 
Divinities] may nourish her one thousand two hundred and sixty 
days. 

COMMENTARY 

This constellatory symbol 
is Draco, the pole Dragon, 
which has seven distinguish- 
ing stars, and which, as de- 
picted in the ancient star- 
maps, extends over seven of 
the zodiacal signs, and in set- 
ting apparently sweeps a third 
of the starry sky down to the horizon. Microcosmically 
it symbolizes the passional nature, epithumia, the Apoca- 
lyptic number of which is 555. The energizing of the 
cerebral centres produces a reflex action in the lower 
nature, and unless the neophyte is duly purified the 
Dragon will indeed devour the child, not at the time of its birth, 
but at the moment when it is conceived. For the solar body is 
not born at this point, but only has its inception, though the psychic 
form may be projected. In the pagan Greek mysteries this stage 
of the telestic work was represented quite baldly as the generative 
act, but Ioannes has handled the subject more delicately, by 





Draco 



THE INITIATION OF IOAXXES 351 

substituting for the solar the psychic body, which is "born" with 
the physical body and grows conjointly with it. In the Apocalyptic 
allegory the Conqueror is not born until after the three and a half 
years (the 1260 days) during which the Woman is being nourished 
by the Divinities ; and the statement that the child is caught up to 
the throne connotes a period of spiritual gestation. In fact, the 
conception, not the birth, is here represented by the opening of the 
adytum and disclosure of the ark; and those who have investigated 
the subject of the ark need not be reminded of what were the very 
peculiar emblems it contained. 

The "wand" with which the divine child is to shepherd the people 
is of course the caduceus of Hermes, the beautiful shepherder of 
souls. In older mythology this magic wand is found in the hand 
of Xebo, the God of Wisdom and "the holder of the sceptre of 
power." It symbolizes the triple fire; properly of gold, it is here 
termed an iron wand, thus associating the divine child with Aries, 
the house of Mars. 

Ch. xii. 7-12 

7 There came to be a battle in the sky. Michael and his Divini- 
ties gave battle to the Dragon; and the Dragon and his Divinities 
gave battle, 8 but they lacked strength, nor was their place found 
in the sky any more. 9 Hurled down was the great Dragon, the 
archaic Snake, who is called the ''Accuser" and the "Adversary," 
the deluder of the whole inhabited earth; he was hurled down to 
the earth, and his Divinities were hurled down with him. 10 I 
heard a great voice in the sky, saying : 

"Now are attained the deliverance, the force and the ruling of 
our God, and the authority of his Anointed. For hurled down is 
the prosecutor of our brothers, who keeps prosecuting them before 
our God day and night. 11 But they conquered him through the 
blood of the Lamb, and through the arcane doctrine of their evi- 
dence; and they did not esteem their psychic bodies until death. 
12 Therefore rejoice, ye skies, and ye who are encamped in them; 
[but] woe to the earth and the sea — for the Accuser has gone down 
to you having great lust, knowing that he has but a short season." 



352 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

The Greek of the Apocalypse belongs to no particular period: 
Ioannes had evidently acquired the language mainly by reading, 
picking up his vocabulary largely from ancient works, or else lived 
in some community in Asia Minor where the language was pre- 
served in its older form ; or possibly he employed an archaic style 
to be in keeping with his subject, but made lapses into the vernacu- 
lar, as do modern writers when they assume Elizabethan English 
because of its supposed dignity and impressiveness. Thus, for in- 
stance, he invariably uses the word polemos for "battle" or mere 
personal combat, although in his day the word had taken the broader 
meaning of "war," and maclic was the usual word for "battle." 
War, in the sense of protracted hostilities, is not mentioned in the 
Apocalypse, which in every instance speaks only of a brief conflict, 
told in very few words, or of mere combats between two individu- 
als. The battle between Michael and the Dragon, with their re- 
spective hosts, resulting in the expulsion of the evil serpent from 
the sky, allegorizes the exclusion from the mind of all impure 
thoughts, especially those relating to the subject of sex. For Satan, 
the red Divinity, stands for nothing more or less than the principle 
of Desire in all its innumerable gradations, from the vaguest yearn- 
ings and the mere promptings of the appetites of the body down to 
the grossest phases of passion and lust; and all of these have their 
source in the instinct of reproduction, the attracting and cohering 
force of generated life. The creative Logos is the Dragon of Eight, 
or Day-Sun ; and Satan, the Adversary, is the Dragon of Darkness, 
or Night- Sun. 

Very little is said in the Apocalypse concerning the psychic body ; 
in fact, it is almost ignored, being tacitly included in the mortal, 
generated nature. While the spiritual awakening is necessarily ac- 
companied by more or less psychic development, the latter may pro- 
ceed independently of, and even adversely to, the true noetic prog- 
ress ; and the pursuit of psychism for its own sake leads inevitably 
to moral death. The psychic consciousness should not be dragged 
down into, and confused with, the normal consciousness on the 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 353 

physical plane of life; for the psychological result of thus confound- 
ing the two worlds is simply ordinary insanity, from which it dif- 
fers only in that it is suicidally self-inflicted, and therefore in the 
highest degree culpable, instead of being merely a misfortune 
caused by mental disease. The psychic body has its own place, in 
its own world, and is chiefly of importance after the death of the 
physical form— hence the encomium, "they did not esteem their 
psychic bodies until death." As said in the Fourth Evangel (xii. 
25), "He who loves his psychic body will lose it; and he who dis- 
regards his psychic body in this world will preserve it for [its] 
cyclic (aidnion) life." In Apocalyptic symbolism the psychic (lu- 
nar) body would be the bride of the Beast, as the solar body is the 
bride of the Lamb. In fact, an ancient reading of ii. 20 has "your 
wife Iezabel" ; and as Thyateira denotes the psychic centre, the 
"wife" would be the psychic body. 

Ch. xii. 13-17; xiii. 1 

13 When the Dragon saw that he was hurled down to the earth, 
he kept pursuing the Woman who gave birth to the man-child. 
14 The Woman w r as endowed with the great Eagle's two wings, so 
that she might fly to the desert, to her place, where she is being 
nourished for a season, and seasons, and half a season, from the 
face of the Snake. 15 The Snake spouted water after the Woman, 
like a river, that he might cause her to be carried away by the tor- 
rent. 16 The earth rescued the W T oman : the earth opened her 
mouth and swallowed up the river which the Dragon spouted from 
his mouth. 17 The Dragon waxed passionate over the Woman, 
and went away to battle with the rest of her seed, who keep the 
commands of the God and have the evidence of the Anointed 
Iesous ; 1 and he stationed himself on the sand of the sea. 

COMMENTARY 

The Virgin Mother being sushumna, the two wings of the Eagle 
are Ida and pin gala; for Aquila is a paranatellon of Capricornus, the 
sign allotted to Hestia, who personifies the divine essence, ousia, or 
primordial substance, 



354 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

The winged Woman represents the objective, or substantial, 
working of the kundalim, while the three witnesses answer to its 
subjective, or noetic, aspect. 

Foiled in his designs on the man-child (the nascent solar body), 
the Dragon seeks to arrest the spiritual growth of the neophyte by 
pouring out a flood of psychic phenomenal illusions, but the force 
thus engendered is absorbed by the material nature ; and then, sta- 
tioning himself on the margin of the sea (the finer and more aes- 
thetic elements of the epithumetic principle), he combats the in- 
tuitions of the intellectual nature. Astronomically, the river spouted 
out by the Dragon is Eridanus, a winding constellation in the 
southern hemisphere, also called the River of Orion, which, when 
Virgo is in ascension, is setting and therefore apparently being 
swallowed by the earth. The constellation Hydra, the Water-ser- 
pent, which adjoins Virgo, is here introduced as a southern redupli- 
cation of the polar Dragon, which is a northern paranatellon of 
Scorpio. 

The phrase "season, and seasons, and half a season," is only a 
puzzling variant of the forty-two months and the 1260 days, 
namely, three and a half years. 

The Lust-tainted Lower Mind 
Chapter xiii. 1-4 

1 I saw rising out of the sea a [constellatory] Beast, having ten 
horns and seven heads, and on his horns ten diadems, and on his 
heads [seven] names of profanities. 2 The Beast which I saw was 
like a leopard, his feet were like a bear's [feet], and his mouth was 
like a lion's mouth. The Dragon gave him his force and his throne, 
and great authority. 3 I saw one of his heads [drooping] as if it 
had been slain in the Death [-world] ; but his death-blow was healed. 
The whole earth became admiring followers of the Beast. 4 They 
also worshipped the Dragon because he gave authority to the Beast, 
and they worshipped the Beast, saying : 

"Who is a match for the Beast? Is any one strong enough to 
meet him in combat ?" 




THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 355 

COMMENTARY 

In stellar symbolism the Beast is the constellation now called 
Cetus, which is represented, however, not as a Whale but as a non- 
descript marine monster. The Greek name for this constellation, 
Kctos, "sea-monster," is a word having for its root-meaning "the 
abyss." The Arabians and the Jews called it the Sea-Lion; and it 
was also named the Leopard and the Sea-Bear. Ioannes has com- 
bined these various representations of it, presenting a composite 
picture. As a caricature of the 
psycho-material mind, the original 
figure, in the form drawn by the 
ancients who invented the zo- 
diacal language, would seem to 
be sufficiently grotesque, but 
Ioannes has given it additional 
touches of satire. The Beast is 
said to rise from the sea and to receive power from the Dragon, 
because it is the product of the two lower planes, the psychic and 
the material; its seven heads are the seven ruling epithumetic de- 
sires, each of which is a profanation of the Divine Desire ; its ten 
horns are the five intellectual faculties doubled, because its every 
faculty is dual and at war with itself; the horns are all adorned 
with diadems to indicate the false pride of the lower intellect. As 
this lower mind is the shadow or reflected image, so to say, of the 
true mind, the Nous, which is symbolized as the Lion, the Beast is 
pictured as a Pseudo-Lion, a hybrid, for it resembles the Leopard, 
which was fabled to be a cross between the Lion (Ico) and the 
Panther (pardus) ; it is slow-going, with the ponderous paws of the 
Bear, and has a mouth like a Lion, thus simulating the voice of the 
Nous. It represents the highest development of the human intellect 
dissociated from philosophic reason and spiritual intuition, and it is 
indeed the admiration of the whole world of the profane. The head 
that is seemingly slain and yet resurrects is the desire for life on the 
plane of the senses, a desire which the neophyte must utterly eradi- 
cate. In a more general sense, the lower mind, whenever it attempts 



356 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

philosophy, is never quite certain that life is worth living; and in its 
utter blindness to spiritual realities, perceiving only the phenomena 
of the material world, it formulates theories of existence based 
merely upon them, regarding all else as unknowable. 

Ch. xiii. 5-10 

5 There was given him a mouth speaking great [boastings] and 
profanities; and authority was given him to do [this] for forty- 
two months. 6 He opened his mouth in profanity against the God, 
to revile his name, his tent-temple, and those who are encamped in 
the sky. 7 It was given him to do battle with the devotees, and to 
conquer them; and authority was given him over every tribe, na- 
tion, tongue and people. 8 All those who dwell on the earth will 
worship him — [every one] whose name has not been registered in 
the sacrificed Lamb's scroll of life since the evolution of the uni- 
verse. 9 If any one has an ear, let him hear: 10 If any one leads 
into captivity, into captivity he goes; if any one shall kill with the 
sword, with the sword must he be killed. Here is the patience and 
the faith of the devotees. 

COMMENTARY 

In this allegorical exposition of the powers and peculiarities of 
the lower mind-principle, only part applies to the particular case of 
the Conqueror, the rest being of a general nature ; for without this 
broader application the treatment of the subject would necessarily 
be incomplete and obscure. Thus the forty-two months (three and 
a half years) refer to the first half of the seven-year initiatory 
cycle, during which the neophyte, passing through the psychic stages 
of his development, and thereby intensifying the action of the 
psycho-phrenic mind, has to struggle constantly against its influ- 
ence; but the rest of the explanatory matter relates to mankind in 
general. 

Those who have not been registered in the book of life (see also 
ch. xvii. 8) are the great majority who have not in any incarnation, 
during the cycle of material evolution, attained the noetic con- 
sciousness. For, once a man has even glimpsed the supernal truths, 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 357 

he can never again rest content with the illusory images of the 
material world or worship at the shrine of mere intellectualism ; 
the true Self, the Master-Mind, has placed his seal upon him, and 
he is thenceforth individualized from the irresponsible mass of 
mankind, and enrolled among those who must by an irresistible im- 
pulse, the call of the God, tread the path of man's higher destiny. 

The word katabole, here translated "evolution," is said by Orige- 
nes to mean the descent of the souls into material conditions. 

The formula, "He who has an ear, let him hear," is used by 
Ioannes as an appeal to the intuition. Here he states a broad prin- 
ciple: the man who craves material life, by that very desire con- 
demns himself to remain in the bondage of reincarnation and sub- 
ject to the iron law of retribution which obtains in the lower 
spheres of existence. But the esotericist, knowing that nothing 
binds him to the physical form of life except the longings of his 
own heart, patiently endures all the ills of life, in full assurance that 
through the purification of his moral character he will attain de- 
liverance. He who does evil, however, is repaid in kind : the slaver 
goes into slavery, the slayer is slain. Says Aischylos, "Wise are 
they who worship Adrasteia (Nemesis)." 

The Debased Devotional Nature 

Ch. xiii. 11, 12 

11 I saw another [constellatory] Beast rising out of the earth. 
He had two horns like a ram, and he talked like a dragon. 12 He is 
wielding all the authority of the first Beast in his presence, and he 
is causing the earth and all its inhabitants to worship the first Beast, 
whose death-blow was healed. 

COMMENTARY 

This Pseudo-Ram is the dual sex-nature, the two riders of the 
dun horse in a different impersonation. He is the image on the 
A"u&terial plane of the Ram, who in the opening of the seven seals 
played the part of the rider of the white horse. Thus the Ram and 
the Pseudo-Ram bear the same relation to each other as do Eros, the 



358 



THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 



Divine Love, and pothos (Cupid), carnal love, not, however, as the 
base passion, but in its more refined forms as sentimental yearning, 

religious fervor of the irrational 
sort, and all the emotional im- 
pulses. He talks like a dragon, 
because from this source originate 
religious cant, sentimental ethics, 
and erotic utterances generally; 
and he has all the potentialities of 
the first Beast, the phrenic nature, 
for unutterable vileness. As a 
constellation, he is the Head of 
Medusa, the mortal Gorgon, 
called by the Jews Rosch hasatan, 
"Satan's Head." Owing to its 
proximity to Aries, this constella- 
tion was sometimes pictured wearing the two horns of the Ram. 




Medusa 



Ch. XIII. 13-18 

13 He makes great omens, so that he may even make fire come 
down out of the sky to the earth in the sight of men. 14 He keeps 
deluding those who dwell on the earth, through the omens which he 
was permitted to make in sight of the Beast, saying to those who 
dw T ell on the earth that they should make an image to the Beast who 
had the stroke of the sword and came to life. 15 It was permitted 
[him] to bestow breath on it— the image of the Beast — so that the 
image of the Beast should not only talk but also cause that all [men] 
who might not worship the image of the Beast should be slain. 16 
He causes all [men], the young and the old, the rich and the poor, 
alike the freemen and the slaves, to be given a brand on their right 
hand or on their forehead, 17 and that no one should be able to 
buy or to sell unless he has the brand — the name of the Beast, or the 
number of his name. 18 Here is cleverness: let him who has trjjg 
intuitive mind compute the number of the Beast; for it is the num- 
ber of a man, and his number is six hundred and sixty-six. [ 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 359 

COMMENTARY 

Magical powers were attributed to Medusa, and talismans were 
made under its stellar influence. The word semeion, here translated 
"omen," signifies also a "talisman" or symbol drawn under the 
influence of some particular constellation or planetary aspect. Cedre- 
nus states (p. 22) that Perseus (the slayer of the Gorgon) taught 
the Persians the magic of Medusa, by means of which fire came 
down out of the sky. But, apart from all exoteric notions of cere- 
monial magic, the Pseudo-Ram of the Apocalypse, as a principle in 
man, does indeed draw down "fire" from the intellectual sky; for 
the force which it represents produces all the grosser forms of 
psychism, and is the agent of the so-called "miracles" of exoteric 
religion, the prodigies produced by erotic fervor, blind credulity 
and disordered imagination; and it is likewise the foul force em- 
ployed in phallic sorcery. It is also the irrational instinct of relig- 
ionism, the vague yearning for something to worship — a reflection 
or shadow of the true devotional principle— which prompts men to 
project a subjective image of the lower, personal mind, and to 
endow it with human attributes, and then to claim to receive "reve- 
lations" from it; and this — the image of the Beast, or unspiritual 
mind, — is their anthropomorphic God, a fabulous monster the wor- 
ship of which has ever prompted men to fanaticism and persecution, 
and has inflicted untold misery and dread upon the masses of man- 
kind, as w T ell as physical torture and death in hideous forms upon the 
many martyrs who have refused to bend the knee to this Gorgonean 
phantom of the beast-mind of man. Truly, where the worshippers 
of this image of the Beast predominate, the man whose brow and 
hand are unbranded by this superstition, who neither thinks nor acts 
in accordance with it, suffers ostracism if not virulent persecution. 

In the star-maps Perseus is depicted carrying the Medusa-Head in 
his left hand. The Head contains the remarkable variable star called 
Algol, the name being corrupt Arabic for Al-Ghul, "the Ogre." The 
sword of Perseus is suspended threateningly over the head of Cetus ; 
and in the latter constellation is Mira, "the wonderful," a variable 
star which has a period of about 330 days, and which at times 



360 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

reaches the second magnitude, and then again diminishes until it 
is invisible to the naked eye. Perseus, Herakles and the other Solar 
Heroes— renowned in mythology as slayers of monsters and as 
healers — who are represented among the constellations may be con- 
sidered as variants of the Sun-God, Dionysos. 

"Here is cleverness" would be, in the English idiom, "Here is a 
puzzle." The number of the Beasts as already explained, is simply 
he phren, the letters of which, as numerals, total 666; while the 
Pseudo-Lamb is akrasia, or 333. Mere intellectuality and learning 
pertain to the Phren, not to the Nous. As Plato says (Timaios, 
p. 51 ), "the Nous is shared only by the Gods and by very few men." 
In I Cor. ii. 16, Paulos, speaking as an initiate, says, "We have the 
Nous," that is, the spiritual mind, as distinguished from the phrenic 
or unspiritual mind. 

IV 

THE THIRD OF THE SEVENFOLD CONQUESTS-THE 
INITIATION BY THE SOLAR FIRE 

The Exalted Higher Mind— the Sun-God 

Chapter xiv. 1-5 

1 I saw; and, behold! the Ram standing on the mountain of 
Sion, and with him the one hundred and forty-four thousand hav- 
ing his name and his father's name written on their foreheads. 2 
I heard a voice from the sky, like the voice of many waters, like 
the voice of a great thunder ; and the voice which I heard was like 
[that] of lyrists playing on their lyres. 3 They chanted as it were 
a new lyric before the throne, and before the four Beings and the 
Ancients, and no one could understand the lyric save the hundred 
and forty- four thousand— they who had been bought from the earth. 
4 These are the ones who were not defiled with women; for they 
are virgins. These are the ones who go along with the Ram wher- 
ever he goes. These were bought from men — a firstling to the God 
and the Ram. 5 In their mouth was found no deceit; they are 
faultless. 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 



361 



COMMENTARl 

The Ram is the fourth of the animal-symbols, or "beasts," and 
is identical with the Bowman on the white horse, the regent of the 
fourth somatic division. He is the intellectual Sun, the Nous, which 
is Iesous, the number of whose name is 888. The Sun is the Lion 
when domiciled in Leo, which corresponds to the highest of the 
noetic chakras, and the Ram when exalted in Aries, which corre- 
sponds to the nimbus ; and his being on Sion's hill also signifies that 
exaltation. Here he is represented as being surrounded by his 
virginal powers, and a thunderous 
chorus preludes the next act in 
the drama, the conquest of the 
cardiac centres. But this chorus, 
the fifth in the series, is only de- 
scribed, no words being given 
because, it is intimated, it would 
be unintelligible to the profane; 
and the conquest of the chakras 
of this division is given with less 
detail than are the others. 

The signs extending from Aries 
to Libra, from the vernal to the 
autumnal equinox, are all covertly 
referred to in the text. The 
companions of the Ram are said 
to be "virgins" (parthenoi) : the 
Guardian-Goddess of Aries is 
Athena the "Virgin" (Parthenos) , 
whose splendid temple in the 
Acropolis of Athens was called the 
Parthenon. As Aries is the domicile of the planet Mars, Athena 
is the Goddess of War as well as of Wisdom, and her helmet is 
adorned with rams' heads and a sphinx. The "voice" that comes 
from the sky is like the sound of many waters and the sound of 
thunder: Zeus the Thunderer governs the sky-region or Taurus- 




Athena 



362 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

quarter and also the sign Leo. The Regent of Taurus is Aphrodite, 
while Hermes is the Regent of Cancer, the sole domicile of the 
Moon, who rules the waters ; Hermes and Aphrodite together repre- 
sent the divine androgyne. The "voice" is also like the sound of 
lyres : the lyre is the distinctive property of Apollon, who is the 
Guardian-God of the sign Gemini. No guile is found in the mouth 
of these 'Virgins" : the sign Virgo corresponds to the vocal centre 
in the throat. And, finally, the "virgins" are faultless, like the celes- 
tial Balance, Libra. This, however, is really a list of the descending 
signs, with Scorpio and Sagittarius (which correspond to the pas- 
sional centres) replaced by their polar opposites, Taurus and Gemini, 
to indicate the purity of the candidate. Strictly speaking, it is only 
the ascending signs that are virgins "who were not defiled by 
women." The descending signs "were bought from men." All the 
signs, the companions of the Ram-Sun, "go along with the Ram 
wherever he goes." 

The Fire That Gives Wisdom 

Ch. xiv. 6, 7 

6 I saw another Divinity flying in mid-sky, having an aeonian 
divine message to announce to those who sit [enthroned] on the 
earth, and to every people, tribe, tongue and nation, 7 and he said 
with a loud voice : 

"Fear ye the God and to him give glory; for the hour of his 
judgment is come ! Worship him who made the sky, the earth, the 
sea and the springs of waters." 

COMMENTARY 

This, the third of the conquests, is represented as a harvesting 
of the intellectual, psychic and spiritual principles, to which corre- 
spond respectively the cerebro-spinal axis, the great sympathetic 
nervous system, and the aureola. The action is therefore confined 
to the three higher centres corresponding to these principles ; while 
the opening of the four lower centres is given as a proclamation to 
each of the four lower principles seated in the somatic divisions. 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 363 

An aeon (aion) is a definite life-period, as the life-time of a man, 
a generation, or the whole evolutionary period, the complete cycle 
of generation. It is only the crude, unphilosophical notion that eter- 
nity is "a long period of time" that has caused the "authorized" 
translators of the New Testament to persist in giving aidnios the 
meaning "eternal." Time is not an entity or a thing per se, nor is 
eternity merely time indefinitely prolonged. Time is only a mental 
concept arising from the consciousness of change in the phenomenal 
world; whereas eternity is noumenal, changeless, extending into 
neither the "past" nor the "future," and therefore is an immeas- 
urable "present." 

The aeonian evangel relates only to the cycle of generation — from 
which the hero of the Apocalyptic drama, the Conqueror, is about to 
be emancipated, after final judgment has been passed upon his deeds 
during the aeon, in which he has been successively incarnated among 
all the races and peoples who have had their lesser cycles in the vast 
period of human evolution. 

The Fire That Destroys Lust 

Ch. xiv. 8 

8 Another, a second Divinity, came after [him], saying: 

"She fell! Babylon the great fell— she who has made all the 
people drink of the wine of the lust of her prostitution !" 

COMMENTARY 

Babylon, elsewhere called the Woman in scarlet, personifies the 
physical nature, the carnal body and the lust for existence inherent 
in its elements. It has "fallen" only in the sense that the conscious- 
ness of the Conqueror has become free from its trammels. 

The Fire That Purifies the Lower Mind 
Ch. xiv. 9-13 

9 Another Divinity, the third, came after them, saying with a 
great voice : 



364 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

"If any one worships the Beast and his image, and receives a 
brand on his forehead or on his [right] hand, 10 he also shall 
drink of the wine of the God's ardor which has been poured out raw 
into the wine-cup of his passion; and he shall be tormented with fire 
and sulphur in presence of the holy Divinities and in presence of 
the Ram. 11 The smoke of their torment keeps going up through- 
out aeons of aeons, and no rest day or night are they having who 
worship the Beast and his image, and whosoever receives the brand 
of his name. 12 Here is the patience of the devotees, those who 
are keeping the commands of the God and the belief of resoiis." 

1 3 I heard a voice from the sky, saying : 

"Write : Immortal are 'the dead' who die in the Master hence- 
forth. 'Yea,' says the Breath, 'that they may cease from their 
labors— yet their works accompany them.' " 

COMMENTARY 

The creative Breath, which at its deiflc source is the supernal 
Love, becomes, in the spheres of generation, the force which en- 
genders bodies, and in that respect the worshippers of the Beast 
and his image, the personal God, partake of it, and thereby are 
constantly undergoing the miseries of embodied existence, in which 
they find no abiding peace. Yet physical existence is in reality a 
purificatory discipline, like the fumig*ating with sulphur (a common 
practice with the ancients) alluded to by Ioannes. The followers 
of Iesous, the spiritual Mind, knowing this, endure life with patience 
and faith in the divine justice. The "dead" are the living dead, the 
embodied souls, who "die in the Master" only when they attain lib- 
eration from the sepulchre of the carnal body, ceasing then from 
their toil but retaining the fruition of their good works. The same 
idea is presented very forcibly and beautifully by Plato in the 
Phaidon (p. 64 et scq.), where he explains that the true disciple of 
philosophy "is ever pursuing death and dying" ; for "all experience 
shows that if we would have pure knowledge of anything we must 
be quit of the body." He defines death as "the release of the soul 
from the chains of the body," and regeneration as "the birth of the 
dead into the world of the living." 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 365 

The Solar Lord of the Fires, and the Divine Fire 
Ch. xiv. 14-16 

14 I saw; and, behold! a white cloud; and on the cloud [I saw] 
sitting [a Divinity] like the son of man, having on his head a golden 
crown, and in his hand a keen sickle. 

1 5 Another Divinity came out from the adytum, crying out with 
a loud voice to the [Divinity] seated on the cloud : 

"Thrust out your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come ; 
for the earth's harvest is dried up." 

16 The [Divinity] seated on the cloud struck his sickle on the 
earth, and the earth was reaped. 

COMMENTARY 

The Fifth Divinity represents the First Logos, here seated in the 
nimbus; for he is the overshadowing Self, the Uncrucined, or unin- 
carnated. He reaps the scant harvest of the psy- 
chic nature. It will be noticed that wherever he 
is referred to in this passage the. word "Divinity" 
(angel os) has been expunged from the text, ap- 
parently by some zealot who, recognizing the 
description as that of the Christos, tampered with 
the manuscript with the same motive, presumably, which prompts 
the modern "orthodox" translators to shade misleadingly the values 
of the Greek tenses, in very many instances. 

The Lord of the Gnostic Mind, and the Perfective Fire 

Ch. xiv. 17-20 

17 Came from the adytum which is in the sky another Divinity, 
he also having a keen sickle. 

18 Another Divinity came out from the altar— he who has au- 
thority over fire — and he gave voice with a great shout to the one 
who had the keen sickle, saying: 




366 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

"Thrust out your keen sickle and pick the grape-clusters of the 
earth's vine, for her bunches of grapes are ripened." 

19 The Divinity struck his sickle into the earth and stripped the 
earth's vine, and threw [the grapes] into the wine-vat, the great 
[womb] of the God's ardor. 20 The wine-vat was trodden outside 
the city, and blood issued from the wine-vat, up to the bridles of 
the horses, as far as one thousand and six hundred stadia. 

COMMENTARY 

The second of the two Reapers is the Second Logos, and he reaps 
the spiritually dynamic nature, which on the plane of creative forces 
corresponds to the fivefold noetic group. The "vine" of this con- 
quest is identical with the "river Euphrates" of the three other 
conquests. Physiologically, it is the spinal cord, the path of the five 
pranas, or life- winds, which are now, by the exigencies of the alle- 
gory, metamorphosed into bunches of grapes. These solar forces, 
permeating and energizing the aura (the wine- vat outside the city), 
produce a return current to the chakras of the four somatic divisions 
(the bridles of the horses) and into the solar body, the 1,600, or 
to hcliakon soma. It is a process analogous to fetal nutrition. 

In stellar symbolism, each of these seven Divinities may be recog- 
nized among the constellations. Thus, for instance, as Aries, the 
Sion of the allegory, rises in the eastern horizon, the Eagle is near 
the zenith, together with the Swan and the Celestial Vulture, these 
being the three Divinities who are said to fly in the mid-sky. 

The word drepanon signifies both "sickle" and "scimitar." The 
Sickle is a group of seven stars in Leo ; while a sickle-shaped sword, 
or scimitar, is held in the hand of Perseus (the northern parana- 
tellon of Taurus) and is the weapon wielded by him in his fight with 
the Sea-monster, Ketos, according to the fable. The first Reaper is 
Zeus, the Regent of Leo, and the "white cloud" on which he is 
"seated" is the heavenly aether, represented by the sign Virgo, whose 
Regent, Derneter, directs the reaping of the grain. The second 
Reaper, Perseus-Dionysos, reaps the wine-grapes by command of 
the Fire-God Hephaistos, who acts as Regent of Aries in place of 
his polar opposite, Athena. 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 367 



THE FOURTH OF THE SEVENFOLD CONQUESTS - 

THE INITIATION BY THE MOST SACRED 

EARTH 

The Seven Libations of Regenerative Force 
Chapter xv. 1-4 

1 I saw another constellation in the sky, great and wonderful, 
[and in it] seven Divinities having the seven retributions, the final 
[ordeals], for by them the God's ardor is finished. 

2 I saw [a sheen], as it were a glassy sea, mixed with fire, and 
those who were Conquerors of the Beast, of his image, and of the 
number of his name, standing on the glassy sea, having lyres of 
the God. 3 They keep chanting the lyric of Moses, a slave of the 
God, and the lyric of the Ram, saying : 

"Great and wonderful are thy works, O Master-God, the All- 
Dominator. Just and true are thy paths, thou Ruler of the ^Eons. 
4 Who shall not fear, O Master, and glorify thy name? For thou 
art the Only Sanctified. For all the people shall come and worship 
before thee. For thy just deeds have been made manifest." 

COMMENTARY 

This constellation is Taurus, and the seven Divinities answer to 
the Hyades, the group of stars situated in the head of the stellar 
Bull, who is the symbol of spiritual generative force. In later 
mythology the Hyades are said to have been the Nymphs who 
reared Bakchos. Here they are simply the seven planetary Gods 
reduplicated, as are also the Pleiades and various other stellar groups 
of seven. 

In the Old Testament mythology, Moses represented the Sun in 
Aries. His paean of victory after crossing the Red Sea (Ex. xiv. 
26-31 ; xv. 1-2 1 ) is presumably the one here referred to; for the 
Red Sea stood for the sea of generation. The crystalline and fiery 
sea is the celestial aether. The "All-Dominator" is the Sun-God; 



368 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

and the Chief of the iEons, the Gnostic Michael, is Hermes, the 
Guardian of the Paths, 'Epfxrjs 0810s. 

Ch. xv. 5-8; XVI. 1 

5 After these [things] I saw, and the adytum of the tent-temple 
of the evidence in the sky was opened. 6 Came out from the ady- 
tum the seven Divinities having the seven retributions clothed in 
flawless and brilliant [diamond-] stone, and girded about their 
breasts with golden girdles. 7 One of the four Beings gave the 
seven Divinities seven golden libation-saucers full of the ardor of 
the God who lives throughout the aeons of the aeons. 8 The adytum 
was filled with smoke from the glory of the God and from his 
inherent force, and no one was able to go into the adytum until the 
seven retributions of the seven Divinities should be finished. 1 I 
heard a great voice from the adytum, saying to the seven Divinities : 

"Go and pour out into the earth the seven libation-saucers of the 
God's ardor." 

COMMENTARY 

The seven superlatively pure and dazzling Divinities who emerge 
from the "most holy place" of the tabernacle are, like the Planetary 
Logos whose apparition is described in the opening vision, andro- 
gynous : each is a male figure with female breasts and wearing the 
girdle of Aphrodite. Here, however, the word stethe is used, which 
is applicable to either sex, while in the other instance the word is 
mast oi , which applies more particularly to the female breasts. The 
hcrmaphroditoSj or blended figure of Hermes (Mercury) and 
Aphrodite (Venus), was a familiar figure in Greek art. In both the 
Greek and the Jewish mystery-paraphernalia the "ark" contained 
the male and female emblems. As the Planetary Logos is inverted, 
mirrored upside-down in the material world, these seven andro- 
gynous Divinities, although they have to do with the lowest of the 
somatic divisions, are yet the highest and purest of all. They are 
the finishers of the great work of regeneration, and the precursors 
of the Conqueror on the white horse. Each has a phial e, or patera, 
a shallow cup, or saucer, used in pouring out drink-offerings to the 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 369 

Gods, and the libations they pour out consist of the primordial 
creative force-substance— the aether. This aether, as symbolized by 
the diamond-glittering raiment of 
the seven Divinities, is colorless 
and without qualities of its own; 
but all qualities are imparted to it 
by the Thought of the God. As 
Paracelsus says, "All things when 
they come from the hand of God 
are white; he colors them after- 
ward according to his pleasure." 
The word plcgc, literally, "a 
blow," here signifies "a plague" 
or affliction sent by the Gods, evidently in the same sense as poine, 
"retribution." It is so employed also in xi. 6. 

The Final Ordeal of the Emotional Nature 
Chapter xvi. 2 

2 The first [Divinity] went and poured out his libation-saucer 
into the earth. It became a bad and painful sore upon the men who 
had the brand of the Beast, and who worshipped his image. 




Phiale 



COMMENTARY 

The earth, or lowest division, is the throne of the Pseudo-Seer; 
and the worshippers of the Beast and his image are the forms of 
thought mirrored in this lowest reflector of the noetic consciousness, 
where they become distorted into the crude elemental notions of 
religion. These are represented as ulcerating; for the time has 
come for the complete eradication of the centres whence they radi- 
ate. The material world, in which all things are subject to decom- 
position and death, may well be regarded as an ulcer on the 
universe. The words in the text may quite as well be construed, 
"It (the earth) became a bad and painful sore as to the men who 
had the brand of the beast"— instead of "a sore upon the men." 



370 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

The Final Ordeal of the Psychic Nature 
Ch. xvi. 3 

3 The second Divinity poured out his libation-saucer into the sea. 
It became blood like a dead man's, and every psychic form of life 
in the sea died. 

COMMENTARY 

The sea, or umbilical centre, is the throne of the Dragon, the 
epithumetic, lower psychic nature. The libation eliminates from it 
the last vestiges of the passions and desires; and the aura of this 
division is then suffused by the golden, orange-yellow color of the 
pranas. 

The Final Ordeal of the Phrenic Nature 

Ch. xvi. 4-7 

4 The third Divinity poured out his libation-saucer into the rivers 
and the springs of the waters, and the [waters] became blood. 5 
I heard the Divinity of the waters saying: 

"Thou art just, thou who [forever] art, who wast, and who art 
sanctified; for thou didst pass this sentence upon [the followers of 
the Beast] : 6 for they poured out the blood of devotees and seers, 
and blood thou hast given them to drink; for they are deserving 
[of it].*' 

7 I heard [the Divinity hovering above] the altar saying: 
"Verily, O Master-God, the All-Dominator, true and just are thy 
judgments !" 

COMMENTARY 

The rivers and springs are the throne of the Beast; it receives 
the golden color when the solar force reaches it. Its regent is the 
phrenic mind, which distorts and falsifies the intuitions reaching it 
from the noetic faculty. The Divinity of the waters is the Zoon 
corresponding to this centre, and the one hovering over the altar 
is the Sun-Lord: in the second conquest he cast the fire of the altar 
into the earth (viii. 3), thus identifying himself with Dionysos, 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 371 

who was called "the sower of fire-seed." In Luke xii. 49 Iesous 
says, "I came to cast fire into the earth." 

Here the word "coming," in the formula applied to the God, is 
replaced by "sanctified" ; for now the God has come, the future 
being merged in the present. 

The Final Ordeal of the Noetic Nature 
Ch. xvi. 8, 9 

8 The fourth Divinity poured out his libation-saucer upon the 
sun. [Authority] was given it to scorch men with fire. 9 Men 
were scorched with great heat, and they reviled the name of the 
God who has authority over these retributions; but they did not 
reform to give him glory. 

COMMENTARY 

The Sun is the throne of the Sky-God, the Regent of the intel- 
lectual nature. The outpouring of the speirema upon this centre 
produces intense mental strain. The intellectual forces are repre- 
sented as unrepentant and profane, simply because the Nous, undif- 
ferentiated Thought, is the "only sanctified." 

The Final Ordeal of the Gnostic Nature 
Ch. xvi. 10, 11 

10 The fifth Divinity poured out his libation-saucer upon the 
throne of the Beast. His realm became darkened; and his [sub- 
jects] gnawed their tongues for pain, 11 and reviled the God of 
the sky because of their pains and sores ; but they did not reform 
from their works. 

COMMENTARY 

The Beast's throne, as a somatic division, is the cardiac centre; 
but in a general way it includes the whole sympathetic system, of 
which the principal chakra, the epigastric plexus, is shared by the 
Dragon. 



3?2 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

The Final Ordeal of the Perfective Nature— The Expulsion 
of the Threefold Elemental Self 

Ch. xvi. 12 

12 The sixth Divinity poured out his libation-saucer upon that 
great river, the Euphrates. Its waters were dried up, so that there 
might be prepared the path of the rulers who [come out] from the 
birthplace of the sun. 

COMMENTARY 

In each of the four conquests the sixth chakra is related to the 
cerebro-spinal axis and the five pranas, the solar or noetic forces, 
since the forces act on each of the four planes of existence, to which 
the somatic divisions correspond. In this final conquest the waters 
of the Euphrates, that is, the magnetic or nerve force of the spinal 
system, are dried up; for henceforth the solar electric fires are to 
take their place permanently. In the "sacred city," the solar body, 
the Euphrates becomes the main-street, or thoroughfare, "of pure 
gold, transparent as glass." The corpses of the two fire-breathing 
"witnesses" were said (xi. 8-n) to lie in the main-street of the city 
(the physical body) until their resurrection; these witnesses have 
power "to chastise the earth with every retribution." 

Ch. xvi. 13-16 

13 I saw [coming] out of the mouth of the Dragon, out of the 
mouth of the Beast, and out of the mouth of the Pseudo-Seer, three 
unpurified spirits, like frogs. 14 For they are spirits of spectres, 
making omens, [and] they are going out among the rulers of the 
whole home-land, to muster them for the battle of the great day 
[of the coming] of the God, the All-Dominator. 15 [The God 
says :] 

"Behold! I am coming [silently], like a thief. Immortal is he 
who stays awake and keeps on his outer garments, so that he may 
not walk naked, and they see his shame." 

16 They mustered them in the place which is called in Hebrew 
Harmagedon. 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 373 

COMMENTARY 

The forces expelled by the drying up of the "Euphrates" issue 
from the three lower somatic centres and form a psychic entity 
analogous to the ghost of a deceased person : the after-death process 
of purification undergone by the soul takes place before death in 
him who "dies in the Master." The soul of the disincarnated man, 
before entering upon its period of blissful rest in the higher world- 
soul, the spiritual realm, has to purge itself of all the evil forces 
and elements of the psychic nature; and these discarded elements 
remain in the lower world-soul, the phantasmal realm, where they 
constitute, for a time, a psychic entity wearing the semblance of the 
departed personality, its ghost, shade or spectre — an elemental self, 
which is a congeries of all the impure and evil constituents thus 
rejected by the soul. In Greek mysticism, as expounded by Plotinos 
and others, this higher world-soul was termed Zeus, and the lower 
world-soul, which is next to the material realm and is rendered foul 
by the impure emanations from the latter, was called Rhea ; the 
latter stands for the Kabbalistic "astral light," which is kinetically 
charged with the evil impulses and thoughts of humanity, and espe- 
cially with the foul sexuality Of the depraved portion of mankind, 
and by its hypnotic influence is a constant inciter to crime and. vice. 
In this realm the spectre gradually disintegrates; but the elements 
composing it are again attracted to the soul when it reincarnates. 
But in the case of the individual who is engaged in the telestic work 
this elemental self becomes a malignant demon, against which he 
must constantly be on his guard, and which he must eventually 
destroy. The impure "spirits" (pneumata) are said to congregate 
in the place called Harmagedon. The scholiasts have failed to find 
even a plausible Hebrew derivation for this word; the supposition 
that it stands for "Mount Megiddo" meets with the difficulty that 
the only Megiddo known to geography was a city on a plain. Con- 
sidered as an anagram, Harmagedon forms Rhea 'dagmon, "Rhea 
of the prurient itchings or desires" — a very accurate characteriza- 
tion of the anima bruta, or brute-soul of the world, which Rhea 
typified. The worship of the Goddess Rhea, who was called also 



374 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Kybele, Astarte, and by many other names and titles, was wide- 
spread among oriental nations. Her numerous temples abounded in 
"consecrated women," and as the Magna Mater, "the Great Mother" 
of these prostitutes, she was worshipped with shameless orgiastic 
rites. Originally, however, Rhea symbolized the celestial aether. 

The Final Triumph— The Spiritual Birth of the Conqueror 

Ch. xvi. 17-21 

17 The seventh Divinity poured out his libation-saucer into the 
air. There came a great voice from the adytum of the sky — from 
the throne — saying: 

"He has been born !" 

18 There came to be lightnings, voices and thunders; and there 
came to be a great earthquake, such as had not happened since men 
were born upon the earth — such and so great an earthquake. 

19 The great city came to be in three divisions. The cities of 
the people fell; and Babylon the great was remembered in the 
thought of the God, to give to her the wine-cup of the wine of the 
ardor of his passion. 20 Every island fled, and the mountains were 
not found. 21 Great hail, like hundred-pound [catapult missiles], 
kept coming clown from the sky upon men, and men reviled the 
God because of the scourge of the hail ; for its scourge was exceed- 
ingly great. 

COMMENTARY 

The voice from the adytum, that of the First Logos, announces 
the birth "from above" of the Conqueror, who thereupon appears 
on the white horse; but before this apparition is described a digres- 
sion is made, to introduce explanatory matter. 

The "voices and thunders" should be "voices of the seven thun- 
ders," as in x. 3 ; so also in iv. 5, viii. 5 and xi. 19. 

The great city, the physical body, is now three-divisional, the 
minor cities, the procreative centres, having been extirpated; 
"cities" might here be rendered "dwellings." The word ethne, 
"people," signifies also "castes" and "sexes." 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 375 

The Lower World-Soul, and the Lust for Material Life 

Chapter xvii. 1-5 

1 Came one of the seven Divinities who had the seven libation- 
saucers, and talked with me, saying : 

"Hither! I shall show you the judgment of the great prostitute 
who is sitting on the many waters, 2 with whom the rulers of the 
earth committed fornication — and those who dwell on the earth 
became intoxicated with the wine of her prostitution." 

3 He carried me away in the Breath [-trance] into the desert; 
and I saw a Woman sitting on a scarlet Beast [having his mouth] 
full of names of profanity, and having seven heads and ten horns. 
4 The Woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, over- jewelled with 
gold, precious stone and pearls, having in her hand a golden wine- 
cup, full of the stenches and filth of her prostitution. 5 On her 
forehead was a name written : 

"A Mystery : Babylon the great, the 'Mother' of the [temple-] 
prostitutes and of the earth's stenches." 

COMMENTARY 

The two "Women" of the Apocalypse are both "Goddesses," in 
the pagan sense, precisely as the "Angels" are merely the Gods of 
the pagan pantheon; and, whether Christian or pagan, all these 
Gods and Goddesses are the personified powers and principles of 
the macrocosm and the microcosm. Babylon, as the "mighty city," 
is the human body ; and as the fallen Woman she is a Goddess, the 
Magna Mater of the temple-prostitutes in the Mystery-cult of Rhea, 
or Astarte. 

Babylon, the human body, is a Mystery, truly. The anatomists, 
physiologists, surgeons and physicians, who have studied this Mys- 
tery even on a strictly empirical and materialistic basis, have gained 
more knowledge of the divine Life manifested in the material 
world, and have conferred vastly greater benefits on the human 
race, than have all the exoteric religionists who have wasted their 
lives in formulating fantastic theologies and in coercing their fel- 



376 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

low-men into the worship of that figment of the unenlightened mind 
— the personal God. But Babylon represents more than the physical 
body considered as a mere form composed of various tissues, a 
congeries of functional organs : it symbolizes also the broad prin- 
ciple of generation, of life confined to a physical basis. According 
to the arcane science, which Ioannes has outlined in allegorical 
language, forces are subtile elements, and the material elements 
are forces that have grown inert; and all the forces and elements 
have their origin in the celestial aether, the Arche, or "first prin- 
ciple." The Sun-clothed Virgin of the Sky, who gives birth to the 
man-child by the gestation of the solar body of the Conqueror, is 
the pure aether, the primordial force-substance ; but in the spheres of 
animal-human generation, where that aether has become differen- 
tiated into the gross material elements, she is the unchaste female, 
the mother of all that is abominable. As an external form, a mar- 
vellous organism evolved by the soul for its own divine purposes, 
the body is the adytum of the God; but the elements composing it 
have become foul during the long ages of material evolution, so 
that the soul is ever being tainted and instigated to evil by the 
impure emanations and vicious impulses which have become inher- 
ent in the physical organism. It is thus a Mystery at once divine 
and infernal, at which the seer represents himself as gazing in 
wonder. 

As a Goddess, the infernal Aphrodite, the depraved Virgo sym- 
bolizes the anima bruta, or lower world-soul, which is saturated with 

sexuality. In this role she holds a cup, 
((C^^j^xn^^^Z^) w mcn is the adjacent constellation Crater, 
^gi^X^^^f^^S)^^ the Mixing-bowl fabled to have belonged 
(b J ^£^^^4^ > to Bakchos. 

Xipv^i^r^yiW Babylon, once the glorious city of the 

jS&XjJaL Chaldees, and a centre of magic and mys- 

(|3^=^||) tery, had fallen into ruins before the time 

^~ ^ the Apocalypse was written. Jackals and 

rater hyenas prowled in its deserted streets; 

and by the superstitious it was looked upon with dread and sup- 
posed to be the special haunt of demons. 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 377 

Ch. xvii. 6-8 

6 I saw the Woman intoxicated with the blood of the devotees 
and with the blood of the witnesses of Iesous. When I saw her, I 
gazed in wonderment, with great curiosity. 7 Said the Divinity to 
me : 

"Why did you wonder? I shall tell you the mystery of the 
Woman, and of the Beast that was carrying her, which has the 
seven heads and the ten horns. 8 The Beast which you saw was, 
and is not, and is about to come up out of the abyss and go to 
destruction. Those who dwell on the earth — [every one] whose 
name has not been registered on the scroll of life since the evolu- 
tion of the universe — will wonder when they look at the Beast, 
because he was, and is not, and shall be present ! 

COMMENTARY 

The red Dragon, the epithumetic, passional nature, is the prin- 
ciple which, in close alliance with the Beast, or phrenic mind, impels 
the soul to continue to incarnate, and he thus sustains the Woman, 
who typifies physical existence. He rises from the abyss, the impure 
elements, and is again disintegrated in them when the soul is puri- 
fied. The formula, "was, is not, and shall be present," merely 
expresses in an enigmatical way the Platonic doctrine that in the 
spheres of generation "nothing really is, but all things are becom- 
ing" ; that is, in the phenomenal world nothing partakes of perma- 
nent being, but "all things are being created and destroyed, coming 
into existence and passing into new forms." The men who have 
not been registered on the scroll of life are simply the uninitiated. 



Ch. xvii. 9-1 1 

9 "Here is the intuitive mind that has cleverness : the seven heads 
are seven mountains on which the Woman is sitting; 10 and there 
are seven rulers, [of whom] the five have fallen, and the one is, 
and the other has not yet. come, and when he does come he must 
abide a little while. 1 1 The Beast which zuas and is not, is himself 



378 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

also an eighth and is [an emanation] from the seven— and to de- 
struction he is going. 

COMMENTARY 

The seven heads of the Dragon are, like those of the Beast, the 
seven cardinal desires, but in the one they are mental, in the other 
instinctual ; and the seven mountains are the seven chakras through 
which they manifest during incarnation (the Woman being then 
seated on them), and they dominate in turn the seven incarnations 
through which the neophyte must pass in conquering them. The 
irreclaimable residue of the epithumetic principle, which goes to 
form the after-death spectre, or elemental self, is the eighth, "the 
son of perdition." The Conqueror is represented in the Apocalyptic 
drama as being in the sixth of the series of seven incarnations, so 
that five of them have perished and the seventh is yet to come ; hence 
the Dragon, later on in the drama, is again imprisoned in the abyss, 
and can not be utterly slain until that seventh and last incarnation. 
In the Buddhist scriptures the second of the "four noble paths" 
which lead to eternal peace is termed sacrid-agamin , "he who will 
return (reincarnate) but once more." 

Ch. xvii. 12-14 

12 "The ten horns which you saw are ten rulers who have not 
yet received a realm ; but they receive authority as rulers one hour 
with the Beast. 13 These have one purpose; and their force and 
authority they pass along to the Beast. 14 These will battle with 
the Ram, and the Ram will conquer them ; for he is Master of mas- 
ters and Ruler of rulers ; and those who [go along] with him are 
called and chosen and reliable." 

COMMENTARY 

The ten horns are the five pranas, each of which is dual, positive 
and negative, on this plane, where they are merely the life- winds, 
or vital forces ; they are not related to the chakras as the tattvas are, 
and hence are said to have no realm as yet, though later they have 
the spinal axis for their realm, when the Ram has conquered them. 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 379 

Exuberant animal vitality, by intensifying the passional nature, 
tends away from spirituality ; hence these forces are represented as 
being inimical to the Nous, yet they are to be conquered and utilized. 
The forces subdued are here classified according to the three lower 
degrees of initiation as probationers, neophytes, and those of proven 
integrity. 

In Grecian mythology the Daktyloi, fabled priests versed in magic 
and healing, were enumerated sometimes as five, but more fre- 
quently as ten, five male and five female, thus corresponding to the 
five pranas and five subordinate pranas. As their name indicates, 
they were the forces as expressed by the fingers. By including the 
prithivi and Brahma tattvas, which are specially related to the spinal 
axis, the pranas are sometimes enumerated as twelve. 

Ch. xvii. 15-18 

1 5 Also he says to me : 

"The waters which you saw, where the prostitute is sitting, are 
nations, mobs, peoples and tongues. 16 The ten horns which you 
saw on the Beast — these shall abhor the prostitute and shall make 
her destitute and naked, and shall devour her flesh and consume her 
with fire. 17 For the God put it in their hearts to carry out his 
purpose, to carry [it] out [as their own] one purpose, and to give 
their realm to the Beast until the instruction of the God should be 
finished. 18 And the Woman whom you saw is the great city which 
has a realm [extending] over the rulers of the earth." 

COMMENTARY 

The waters are the great sea of generated life, humanity in its 
vast cycle of material and psychic evolution, which comprises all 
lesser racial and subracial cycles, in each of which every individual 
plays his part ; and the whole mighty tide of life slowly works out 
the divine purpose. Even the minor forces of the individual man 
have in them the impulse of this purpose of the God, so that he who 
runs counter to it invites disease and destruction from the very 
forces that normally vitalize his physical form. The "rulers of the 



3 8o THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

earth" are the underlying forces of the material world ; though the 
phrase may also be taken as meaning men in general, as the highest 
of the animal kingdom. 

The Rejoicing over the Conquest of the Great Illusion 
Chapter xviii. 1-3 

1 After these [instructions] I saw another Divinity coming 
down out of the sky, having great power; and the earth was lit up 
by his glory. 2 He cried out with a strong voice, saying : 

"She fell ! The great Babylon fell, and became a haunt of ghosts, 
a prison of every filthy spectre and a cage of every filthy and un- 
clean bird [of prey]. 3 For through the wine of the lust of her 
prostitution all the people are drunk. The rulers of the earth com- 
mitted fornication with her; and the merchants of the earth by the 
force of her lewdness grew rich." 

COMMENTARY 

The Apocalyptic hero, having conquered in the ordeals of his 
initiation, achieving the spiritual rebirth, has risen above the illu- 
sions of life, and has taken his place among the deathless Gods. 
The exhortations and lamentations which follow the declaration 
of the radiant Divinity (Ares) concerning the fall of Babylon are 
of a general nature, applying to the aggregate of humanity, and 
not at all to the Conqueror. For, as there are two crucifixions, so 
there are, correspondingly, two falls. The fall of Babylon referred 
to by the Divinity is the fall into mortal corruption, the desecration 
by humanity of their physical bodies, which they have converted 
into holds of iniquity. But, as pertaining to the Conqueror, the fall 
of Babylon is the exact reverse of this; for it means the conquest, 
subjugation and purification of the body. 

The people, rulers and merchants who were debauched by the 
great prostitute are the four lower castes — the toiling, combative, 
commercial and intellectual classes — while the Divinities represent 
the fifth and highest class, the enlightened. 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 381 

Ch. xviii. 4-20 

4 I heard another voice from the sky, saying : 

"Come out from her, O my people, so that you may not have 
partnership in her sins, and so that you may not receive of her 
retributions ! 5 For her sins are heaped up even to the sky, and the 
God has held in memory her misdeeds. 6 Recompense her even as 
she recompensed, and repay her double [wages], according to her 
works. In the wine-cup which she poured out, pour out for her a 
double [draught]. 7 As much as she glorified herself and grew 
lewd, so much give her of torment and mourning; for in her heart 
she keeps saying : 

' 'I sit enthroned a queen, and am not a widow ; and I shall not 
at all see mourning.' 

8 "Therefore in one day shall come her retributions — death, 
mourning and hunger — and she shall be consumed by fire. For 
strong is the God who judged her. 9 The rulers of the earth, who 
committed fornication and were lustful with her, shall weep and 
wail over her when they look at the smoke of her conflagration, 10 
standing afar through fear of her torment, saying : 

' 'Woe ! Woe ! The great city, Babylon, the strong city ! For 
in one hour has come your judgment V 

1 1 "The merchants of the earth shed tears and mourn over her, 
for no one buys their stock any more — 12 the stock of gold, silver, 
precious stone, pearls, byssus, purple [cloth] and silken [fabrics] 
and scarlet; and all thuja- wood, every ivory utensil, every utensil 
[made] of very precious wood, of bronze, of iron and of marble ; 
13 and cinnamon, amomum, incense, ointment, frankincense, wine, 
oil, flour, wheat, cattle and sheep ; and [merchandise] of horses and 
wagons — and of bodies and soids of men! 14 (The fruits of your 
soul's desire are gone from you, and all dainty and radiant [charms] 
have perished from you, and [your lovers] shall never more find 
them at all [in you].) 15 The merchants of these wares, who were 
enriched by her, shall stand afar through fear of her torment, shed- 
ding tears and mourning, 16 saying: 

c 'Woe ! Woe ! The great city — she who was arrayed in byssus 



382 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

[fabric], purple and scarlet, and over- jewelled with gold, precious 
stone and pearl! 17 For in one hour all this wealth has come to 
destitution.' 

"And every sailing-master, and every crew on the ships, sailors, 
and as many as toil [on] the sea, stood afar 18 and cried out, on 
seeing the smoke of her conflagration, saying: 

" 'What [city] is the equal of the great city?' 

19 "And they threw dust on their heads and cried out, weeping 
and sorrowing, saying : 

" 'Woe ! Woe ! The great city, by whom all were enriched who 
have ships on the sea, from her bounti fulness ! For in one hour she 
has come to destitution.' 

20 "Rejoice over her, O sky, and ye devotees, messengers [of 
God] and seers ! For the God has passed the sentence upon her 
which [she passed upon] you." 

COMMENTARY 

The "voice from the sky" is that of the regent of Taurus, Aphro- 
dite, in her lunar aspect as Selene, rj ravpoKepws, the Bull-horned 
Goddess. Owing to the Christian prejudice against the fair sex, 
the Apocalyptist had to be cautious in designating the Goddesses. 
It is for this reason, presumably, that Hermes of the golden wand 
appears elsewhere as the Guardian-God of Aries, in place of Athena, 
the Goddess of Wisdom. 

Ch. xviii. 21-24 

21 A lone Divinity, the strong one, took up a stone, like a great 
millstone, and threw it into the sea, saying : 

"Thus by a violent effort shall Babylon, the great city, be thrown 
down, and shall not at all be found any more. 22 The voice of 
lyrists, musicians, flutists and trumpeters shall not at.all be heard in 
thee any more ; no craftsman, of whatever craft, shall be found any 
more at all in thee ; the voice of a millstone shall not at all be heard 
in thee any more; 23 the light of a lamp shall not at all shine 
in thee any more; and the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride 
shall not at all be heard in thee any more. For thy merchants were 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 383 

the magnates of the earth. For by thy witchcraft all the people 
were deluded. 24 And in her was found the blood of seers and 
devotees, and of all who have been sacrificed on the earth." 

COMMENTARY 

The Divinity who explained the nature of the Woman and the 
Beast is Zeus, the Guardian of the Leo-quarter of the zodiac; the 
Divinity who proclaimed the fall of Babylon is Ares, the Guardian 
of the Scorpio-quarter; the Divinity who exhorted the people to 
come forth out of the doomed city is Aphrodite, the Guardian of the 
Taurus-quarter; and the Divinity who cast "the millstone of the 
Gods" into the sea is Kronos, the Guardian of the Aquarius-quar- 
ter. The four thus represent the quarters of the zodiac, the somatic 
divisions and the castes. The first is said to have been one of the 
seven who poured out the libation-saucers, or pateras ; but this is 
true also of the others, as the seven Divinities with the pateras stand 
for the seven planetary Gods. The Lord of the four Divinities is, 
of course, Hermes, who presides over the initiation and reveals to 
the candidate the divine mysteries. 

In the rejoicing and lamentation over the prospective fall of 
Babylon (an event which, for the mass of mankind, lies in the ex- 
tremely remote future) the four castes take part. The highest or 
spiritual class is given as threefold, composed of devotees, divine 
messengers and seers; but they utter no rejoicings, the Divinities 
acting as their spokesmen. The profane, comprising the rulers or 
dominant warlike class, the merchants or trading class, and the 
sailors, the toiling masses on the sea of life, indulge in lamentations 
over the downfall of the great city. For the present, and for ages 
to come, in Christian and pagan lands alike, Astarte remains en- 
throned on the scarlet Dragon, "who is the Devil and Satan," and in 
this twentieth century her cup is more overflowing with abomina- 
tions, and the traffic in the bodies and souls of men and of women 
goes on even more briskly and heartlessly, than in the days when 
Ioannes penned his mystic scroll. The destruction of the Apocalyp- 
tic Babylon will come only when humanity shall have learned to 
loathe the lusts of the flesh and to love the glories of the spirit. 



384 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Chapter xix. 1-8 

1 After these [denunciations] I heard [a chorus], as it were the 
voice of a vast throng in the sky, saying: 

"Allelou'ia! The deliverance, glory and force are our God's. 2 
For true and just are his judgments : for he has judged the great 
prostitute, who corrupted the earth with her prostitution, and he 
has avenged the blood of his slaves at her hand." 

3 And once more they have said : 

"Allelou'ia! Her smoke keeps going up throughout the aeons of 
the aeons !" 

4 The twenty- four Ancients and the four Beings fell down and 
worshipped the God seated on the throne, saying : 

"Amen. Allelou'ia!" 

5 A voice came out of the throne, saying: 

"Praise ye our God, all ye his slaves, and ye who fear him, both 
the young and the old." 

6 And I heard [a chorus], as it were the voice of a vast throng, 
as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunders, 
saying : 

"Allelou'ia! For the Master-God, the All-Dominator, has become 
ruler. 7 Let us rejoice and become ecstatic, and let us give to him 
the glory ; for the marriage of the Ram has come, and his wife has 
made herself ready. 8 To her was given [the right] to clothe 
herself in byssus [-vesture] brilliant and pure; for byssus [-vestures] 
are the awards to the devotees." 

COMMENTARY 

Here the main action of the drama is resumed : the chorus, which 
is the seventh and last, is a paean of victory following the attainment 
by. the Conqueror of the Spiritual Rebirth. The chorus is chanted 
by all the powers of the microcosmic universe, Apollon being the 
chorus-leader. The word Allelou'ia, which is not found elsewhere 
in the New Testament, is here chanted four times. It is supposed 
to be here, as in the Psalms, the Hebrew Hallelu-Jah, "Praise ye 
Jah" ; but is also said to have been used in the Mithraic rites. Here 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 385 

in the Apocalypse it appears to be merely a substitute for the Greek 
Eleleu ie found in the ancient hymns to Apollon, and to be a cry of 
triumph, like the Latin Io triumphe. 

The marriage (gamos) was one of the symbolic rites in the Greek 
Mysteries ; and universally in mysticism spjrit is represented as the 
male, and matter as the female principle. Here the "bride" of the 
Conqueror is the solar body— the "fire-body" of the Initiate. 

Byssus was a fine cloth, naturally of a yellow color, affected by 
oriental devotees. It represents the auric color of a saintly man. 

Ch. xix. 9, 10 

9 And to me [the Divinity] says : 

"Write : Immortal are they who are invited to the wedding dinner 
of the Ram." 

And [again] he says to me : 

"These are the arcane doctrines of the God." 

10 I fell down before his feet to worship him ; but he says to me : 
"See to it [that you do] not. I am a fellow-slave with you and 

with your brothers who have the evidence of Iesous. Worship the 
God. For the evidence of Iesous is the 'Breath' of seership." 

COMMENTARY 

Absolute certainty of the divine, immortal nature, the conscious 
spiritual Self, can be had only through the sacred trance, in which 
all the lower faculties are placed in abeyance, the clamor of the 
senses, emotions and thoughts completely stilled, so that in the per- 
fect peace and silence of the soul the voice of the inner Self may 
become audible. This trance-state can be attained only through the 
action of the speirema, the dynamic working-force of the parakletos, 
or "advocate," who pleads with the Father. Iesous, the evidence of 
whom is said to be the Pneuma of seership, is here, as always, the 
Sun-God, typifying the Nous or Sunlike Self. He is the Mystery- 
God of Seership, Dionysos, in whose cult each candidate for initia- 
tion aspired to become the God, or, in other words, to attain to union 
with his own spiritual Self. The anthropomorphized Iesous of 
Christianity is merely a moral example to his worshippers.. 



386 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

VI 

THE EXTIRPATION OF THE MORTAL PRINCIPLES 

OF THE SOUL 

The Mind-Born Conqueror, and His Spiritual Powers 
Ch. xix. 11-16 

ill saw the sky opened; and, behold! a white horse [appeared], 
and he who was riding him is called Believable and True, and with 
justice he judges and gives battle. 12 His eyes are like a blaze of 
fire, and on his head are many diadems ; and [on his forehead] he 
has a name written which no one knows save himself. 13 He is 
clothed in a garment dyed with blood ; and his name is called "The 
Logos of the God." 14 The armies in the sky were following him, 
on white horses, wearing byssus [-robes], white and pure. 15 From 
his mouth keeps flashing forth a keen sword, that with it he might 
chastise the people. He shall rule them with an iron wand. He is 
treading the wine-vat [overflowing with] the wine of the ardor of 
the passion of the God, the All-Dominator. 16 He has on his 
garment and on his thigh the name written, "Ruler of rulers and 
Master of masters." 

COMMENTARY 

The hero on the white horse is the Second Logos, the incarnating 
Ego; and he is now the Conqueror, who by indomitable will has 
completed the telestic work, and is no longer the inverted Logos. 
For here he wears the aspect of Mars, the War-God, who in the 
older mythology is the God of Generation; he rules with a rod of 
iron, the metal of Mars; he treads the wine-vat of regenerative 
force, and he has his title written on his thigh— a euphemism for 
phallos, as in Old Testament usage {Gen. xxvi. 2, et passim). This 
means that the Conqueror has attained the state of sinless purity, 
having eradicated from his nature everything that relates to the 
lower phases of physical existence. He now goes forth to the final 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 387 

battle with the elemental self, the Tartarean ghost of his now de- 
funct psycho-material personality. 

The Last Battle, and the Banquet of the Birds of Prey 
Ch. xix. 17, 18 

17 I saw a lone Divinity standing in the sun. He cried out with 
a great voice, saying to all the birds [of prey] that fly in mid-sky : 

"Come! Flock together to the dinner of the great God, 18 so 
that you may devour the flesh of rulers, the flesh of commanders, 
the flesh of strong [warriors], the flesh of horses and of their riders, 
and the flesh of all, free and slave, both young and old." 

COMMENTARY 

The "lone" Divinities are the Chief Divinities (archangeloi) , 
corresponding to the Zoa; here the one standing in the sun is 
Michael (Hermes), he who drove the Dragon from the sky. 

The elemental self is the essence of impurity in the psychic and 
material elements; and as a sort of by-product, so to say, of the 
evolutionary aeon, it is a concretion of all that was evil in each incar- 
nation during the seonian sojourn of the Ego in the spheres of 
generation : it is therefore the "flesh," or carnal element, of kings, 
warriors and all the other personalities assumed by the incarnating 
Self in the drama being enacted by humanity. 

Ch. xix. 19-21 

19 I saw the Beast, and the rulers of the earth and their armies, 
drawn together to do battle with the Rider on the White Horse and 
his army. 20 The Beast was captured, and with him the Pseudo- 
Seer who made the omens in his sight, by which he deluded those 
who had received the brand of the Beast, and the worshippers of 
his image. The two [beasts] were cast alive into the lake of fire 
which flames with sulphur; 21 and the rest were slain by the 
sword of the Rider on the White Horse, [by the sword] which kept 
flashing forth from his mouth; and all the birds [of prey] were 
gorged with their flesh. 



388 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

The battles in the Apocalypse are described very briefly, as short 
and decisive conflicts, and never as protracted struggles. In this 
one, the instinctual and phrenic principles of the elemental congeries 
are apprehended and thrown into the astral fire of the phantasmal 
world, where dissolution is their ultimate fate. 

Chapter xx. 1-3 

1 I saw a Divinity coming down from the sky, having the key 
of the abyss and a great chain on his hand. 2 He apprehended the 
Dragon, the archaic Snake, who is the Accuser and the Adversary, 
and enchained him for a thousand years, 3 and cast him into the 
abyss, and locked and sealed [it] atop of him, so that he should not 
delude the people any more until the thousand years should be fin- 
ished ; and after that he must be turned loose for a short time. 

COMMENTARY 

Since the hero of the Apocalypse is represented as being in the 
sixth incarnation of the seven making up the cycle of initiation, he 
has one more earth-life to undergo, and therefore can not yet 
completely destroy the epithumetic principle ; instead, it is placed in 
durance for a thousand years, after which it must be freed, when 
the hero reincarnates, whereupon it will be speedily exterminated. 
This seventh incarnation is the last of the seven rulers who are the 
seven heads of the Dragon ; and of this ruler it is said that "when he 
does come he must abide a little while." In placing the time be- 
tween incarnations at a thousand years Ioannes follows Plato, who 
gives that period, as in Phaidros, p. 249, and in the Republic, p. 
615 ; in the latter, however, where he is relating the allegory of Er, 
Plato explains that, owing to the tenfold intensity of sensation in 
the subjective after-death state, "the thousand years answer to the 
hundred years which are reckoned as the lifetime of man." 

The expression "on his hand" (inl rrjv X e ^P a a vTov) is probably 
a solecism, "in his hand" being intended. The Divinity with the 
chain is Zeus; and the passage is distinctly reminiscent of the one 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 389 

in the Iliad (viii. 5-26) where Zeus threatens to throw any disobe- 
dient God into the Tartarean abyss, and proposes to use his golden 
chain in demonstrating his unequalled strength. 

The Aftei -Death Bliss of the Soul 
Ch. xx. 4-6 

4 I saw thrones and [the Gods who] sat on them ; and they were 
empowered to judge. And [I saw] the souls of those who had been 
beheaded on account of the evidence of Iesous and on account of 
the arcane doctrine of the God; also those who did not worship 
the Beast or his image, and did not receive his brand on their fore- 
head and on their hand, and they came to life and ruled with the 
Anointed for a thousand years ; 5 [but] the rest of the dead did 
not come to life again until the thousand years were finished. This 
is the first resurrection. 6 Immortal and holy is he who has part in 
the first resurrection ; over these the second death does not hold 
sway, but they shall be sacrificers to the God and his Anointed, and 
they shall rule with him for the thousand years. 

COMMENTARY 

When the Beast and the Pseudo-Seer were cast into the astral 
fire, and the Dragon was incarcerated in the abyss, they made their 
final exit from the Apocalyptic stage. The Conqueror has anni- 
hilated the bogus Lion and the bogus Ram ; but in his next incarna- 
tion he will have to fight and destroy the Dragon, the bogus Arche- 
Logos. Yet the Apocalyptic drama covers but the one incarnation ; 
and so, rather than leave in uncertainty the issue of the final combat 
between the Conqueror and the Dragon, Ioannes here introduces a 
side-scene in which he first explains in a general way what happens 
to the soul of a man during the periods between incarnations, and 
then, carrying into the future the story of the Conqueror, describes 
the final battle in the next incarnation, resulting in the defeat and 
destruction of the Dragon. 

The thrones and those enthroned on them represent a typical 
individual in a series of incarnations, after each of which, upon the 



390 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

death of the physical body, the enthroned Self passes judgment upon 
the deeds and misdeeds, on the planes of thought, emotion and ac- 
tion, of the lower self during the preceding earth-life. All the pure 
and noble thoughts, sentiments, aspirations and memories are re- 
tained and remain in the deathless Mind, the Nous, throughout the 
season of subjective peace and bliss which the soul then experiences ; 
but all the worthless and evil elements are rejected and left to remain 
dormant in the lower psychic realm, dying the "second death," and 
coming to life only when the soul again descends into the spheres 
of generation. Thus the man's own past is his personal "Satan" 
and "Devil," the ancient serpent trailing through the ages and 
accusing him day and night before his inner God who is his right- 
eous Judge. In a narrower sense, the thrones may be considered as 
the twelve thrones of the solar powers, and "the great white throne" 
as that of the Sun-God. 

The Final Purification of the Soul 
Ch. xx. 7-10 

7 When the thousand years are finished, the Adversary shall be 
turned loose from his prison 8 and shall come out to delude the 
people who are in the four corners of the earth (Gog and Magog), 
to bring them together for battle, the number of whom is as the sand 
of the sea. 9 They went up, [their battle-front extending] over the 
width of the earth, and surrounded the army of the devotees, and 
the beloved city. And fire came down out of the sky and consumed 
them. 10 The Accuser, the deluder of them, was thrown into the 
lake of fire and sulphur, where also are the Beast and the Pseudo- 
Seer; and they shall be tormented day and night throughout the 
aeons of the aeons. 

COMMENTARY 

Here is foretold the fate of the Dragon, the epithumetic principle, 
whose desires, passions and longings are as numerous as the sand 
of the sea. But they have now no lodging-place in the purified 
nature of the Conqueror, and exist only as surviving impressions 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 391 

and impulses impressed like phonographic records on the plastic 
world-soul, and as a malignant composite spectral entity they assail 
him from without. The purifying fire obliterates these collective 
phantoms ; and their focal centre, the Dragon in his capacity as the 
"eighth," shares the doom of the bogus Lion and the bogus Ram. 
The clause put in parentheses is evidently some scholiast's marginal 
gloss that has crept into the text, a mere memorandum referring to 
"Gog" and "Magog," instead of being written out in full as "Gog, 
king of the land of Magog." It is a true parallel, however, from 
the Jewish mythology, and indicates that whoever wrote it under- 
stood to some extent the esoteric meaning of the Apocalypse and 
also the inner sense of the Old Testament myths. In fact, no real 
esotericist could possibly fail to perceive the general meaning of the 
Apocalyptic allegory; and the solution of its peculiar puzzles calls 
only for the exercise of ingenuity on the part of any one "who has 
the Nous." But through the ages the esotericists have merely smiled 
and remained silent while the exoteric "Fathers of the Church" and 
their worthy successors have tortured this magnificent epic into a 
theological nightmare; for if the "orthodox" had discovered its real 
nature, the Apocalypse would unquestionably have shared the fate 
of the learned Porphyry's treatise on Christianity, which was burned 
by decree of the Roman Emperor. 

The Summing Up of the Cycle of Incarnations 

Ch. xx. 11-15 

nl saw a great white throne and [the God] seated on it, from 
whose face fled the earth and the sky— and a place was not found 
for them. 12 I saw the dead, the old and the young, standing be- 
fore the throne; and [their] scrolls were unrolled. xAnother scroll 
was unrolled, which is [the Ram's scroll] of life. The dead were 
judged from the [records] written in [their] scrolls, according to 
their works. 13 The sea gave up the dead which were in it, and 
Death and the Unseen gave up the dead which were in them; and 
they were judged, each and all, according to their works. 14 Death 
and the Unseen were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second 



392 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

death — the lake of fire. 15 If any one was not found registered in 
the [Ram's] scroll of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. 

COMMENTARY 

Here the action of the drama is again resumed. The initiate has 
severe.d himself from the lower life, and by thus renouncing every- 
thing pertaining to the generated form of existence he is morally 
and dynamically in the same condition as is the disincarnated man, 
so that his past must be adjudicated in the same way. But, whereas, 
the after-death judgment of the uninitiated soul involves only its 
last preceding earth-life, the Conqueror must render an account of 
all his oast incarnations : the records in their scrolls are reviewed, 
and then all are summed up in the Ram's great scroll of life— the 
comprehensive record of the incarnating Self. All his deeds in the 
great sea of sensuous life, all the things that he ever did in the 
physical and psychic worlds, spring to life in the Eternal Memory, 
and all are passed upon by the inexorable Judge, and whatever ele- 
ment in the man's aeon-evolved character that may be found un- 
worthy of life eternal is hurled into the consuming fire of the chaos, 
there to disintegrate in the second death. In this there is no shadow 
of that exoteric and profane notion, the "vicarious atonement." 
According to the philosophy of loannes, Seer and Initiate, rigid 
justice rules all worlds. 

VII 
THE ETERNAL VESTURE OF THE SELF 

The Divine Embodiment— the "New Universe' ' 

Chapter xxi. 1-5 

1 I saw a new sky and a new earth— for the first sky and the 
first earth have passed away, and the sea is not any more. 2 I saw 
the holy city, New Hierousalem, coming down out of the sky— from 
the God— made ready as a bride bedecked for her husband. 3 I 
heard a great voice from the throne, saying : 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 393 

"Behold! the tent-temple of the God is with men, and he shall 
encamp with them. They shall be his people and the God himself 
shall be with them— their God. 4 He shall wipe away every tear 
from their eyes; and there shall not be death any more, nor shall 
there be mourning, lamentation or pain any more. For the material 
elements have passed away." 

5 Said the [Master] seated on the throne : 
"Behold ! I am making a new universe." 
And to me he says : 

"Write : These arcane doctrines are believable and true." 

COMMENTARY 

In the prelude to the first act of the drama (iv. 11) the Powers 
chant a paean to the God who brought into existence the universe ; 
but now that microcosmic "universe," the lower self which had been 
evolved during the generative aeons, has fulfilled its purpose, and is 
superseded by a new Universe, a new cycle of spiritual evolution 
transcendent in glory. 

Ch. xxi. 6-8 

6 And [again] he said to me : 

"He has been bom, [but] / am the Alpha and the O, the Origin 
and the Perfection. To him who thirsts / shall give of the spring 
of the water of life as a free gift. 7 The Conqueror shall obtain 
the universe, and I will be a God to him, and he shall be a son to me. 
8 But, for the cowardly, the unbelieving, the malodorous, murder- 
ers, fornicators, sorcerers, worshippers of phantoms, and all liars, 
their part [shall be] in the lake which flames with fire and sulphur 
—which is the second death." 

COMMENTARY 

The First Logos, the enthroned God, who is the source of life 
and its ultimate goal, is never incarnated ; the Second Logos is the 
incarnating Self ; and the man as he is on earth is the Third Logos, 
who, if he conquers and achieves the second birth, becomes the son 
of the God. Yet the three are in reality one, the Divine Man mani- 



394 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

fested on three planes of life. Nevertheless, if the carnal man be- 
comes irredeemably wicked, his fate is the second death, the reverse 
of the second birth : his psychic self decomposes in the fiery subtile 
elements, even as the physical body is resolved into its original ele- 
ments when abandoned by the animating principle. The second 
death means the obliteration of the personal consciousness; the sec- 
ond birth leads to the attuning of the individual consciousness with 
that which is universal and divine. 

A variant reading in the text has "I have been born," but the 
gegone of the received text is preferable. The revisers have adopted 
the extraordinary reading gegonan, from which they extract the 
almost meaningless statement, "They are come to pass." 

The Twelve-Gate City of the Sun-God— the Solar Body 

Ch. xxi. 9-14 

9 Came one of the seven Divinities who had the seven libation- 
saucers, who were charged with the seven last retributions, and he 
talked with me, saying : 

"Hither ! I shall show you the bride— the Ram's wife." 

10 He carried me away in the Breath [-trance] to a mountain 
great and high, and showed me the holy city Hierousalem, coming 
down out of the sky -from the God, 11 having the God's glory— 
[and this], her luminary, was like a very precious stone, like an 
opal crystal-glittering — 12 having a wall great and high; having 
twelve gateways, and at the gateways twelve Divinities, and [on 
the gateways] names inscribed, which are [the names] of the twelve 
tribes of the children of Israel: 13 on the east were three gate- 
ways, on the north three gateways, on the south three gateways, 
and on the west three gateways. 14 The wall of the city had twelve 
foundations, and on them [were inscribed] the twelve names of 
the twelve apostles of the Ram. 

COMMENTARY 

The Divinity here is Hermes, the guide and hierophant. His 
caduceus (with which he measures the city) symbolizes the three 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 395 

currents of the kundalini, the central rod (the "hollow reed" of the 
Apocalypse) being the sushumna nadi, and the two serpents Ida and 
pin gala, or "the two witnesses." 

The mountains of the Apocalypse are the chakras and the states 
of consciousness to which they correspond ; the symbolism is almost 
universal, and many were the ancient cities having their seven sacred 
mountains or hills. The Book of Enoch describes seven mountains, 
each of which was composed of one of the seven metals ascribed to 
the planets. These are : Saturn, lead ; Jupiter, tin ; Mars, iron ; Sun, 
gold; Venus, copper; Mercury, quicksilver; and Moon, silver. But 
the lofty mountain of the text is reminiscent of Olympos, on the 
twelve peaks of which were throned the six Gods and six Goddesses 
who were also Guardians of the twelve signs of the zodiac. 

The iaspis is thought by some authorities to have been the dia- 
mond or the opal, and the latter supposition is doubtless correct, as 
the self-luminous aura, the glory, basically white, but coruscating 
with all the seven colors, resembles a brilliant opal. The aura (the 
wall of the city) has twelve force-centres, where the twelve cosmic 
forces (the apostles of the Ram, or Sun) are focussed upon the 
microcosm, and these focal centres are dynamically related to the 
twelve orifices of the body— the twelve gateways of the city, corre- 
sponding to the twelve tribes. Thus, quite literally, even on the 
plane of forces, the Conqueror obtains the Universe. As said in 
the Aitareya-Aranyaka, "These life-forces (pranas) are verily 
twelvefold, seven in the head, two in the breast, and three below." 
But in the Apocalyptic city the force-centres are arranged'according 
to the zodiacal scheme. 

Ch. xxi. 15-21 

15 The [Divinity] who was talking with me had for a measure 
a golden reed, to measure the city, its gateways and its wall. 16 
The city lies foursquare, and its length is as great as its width. He 
measured the city with the reed, by stadia, twelve thousand; its 
length, width and height are equal. 17 And he measured its wall, 
one hundred and forty-four cubits, [including] the measure of a 
man, that is, of a Divinity. 18 The building-material of its wall 



396 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

was opal, and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. 19 The foun- 
dations of the wall of the city were ornamented with every precious 
stone : the first foundation was opal ; the second, lapis-lazuli ; the 
third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; 20 the fifth, sardonyx; 
the sixth, carnelian; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the 
ninth, topaz ; the tenth, chrysoprase ; the eleventh, sapphire ; and the 
twelfth, amethyst. 21 The twelve gateways were twelve pearls: 
each one of the several gateways was [carved] from a single pearl 

COMMENTARY 

As already explained, the cubical city, when unfolded, becomes a 
cross, symbolizing the human form. It is the solar body, to heliakon 
soma, the numerical value of the words being 1,600, the number of 
Jewish miles in 12,000 stadia. The Roman mile of about eight 
stadia, it should be noted, was never used by the Jews, who counted 
seven and a half stadia to the mile. The aura, he doxa, gives the 
number 143, to which is added an alpha, 1, that being the vowel and 
number of the primeval man, or Divinity. 

The aura is a brilliant opalescence, self-luminous, and the solar 
body has the appearance of transparent gold. 

The twelve precious stones are not all identified with certainty, 
as some of the Greek names are dubious ; but, employing the modern 
terms generally applied to them, they are probably as given above. 
Taking Aries as the first sign of the zodiac, the gems, with their 
colors, fit in as follows: Region of the Sky: ii. Gemini, sapphire, 
azure; 12. Taurus, amethyst, violet; 1. Aries, opal, many-colored. 
Region of the Sea : 2. Pisces, lapis-lazuli, rich blue ; 3. Aquarius, 
chalcedony, blue-gray; 4. Capricornus, emerald, bluish-green. Re- 
gion of the Earth: 5. Sagittarius, sardonyx, red; 6. Scorpio, 
carnelian, bright red ; 7. Libra, chrysolite, yellowish-green. Region 
of the Fire: 8. Virgo, beryl, yellow; 9. Leo, topaz, golden; 10. 
Cancer, chrysoprase, greenish-golden. Here, as always in the 
Apocalypse, the signs are given in reversed order. From the most 
ancient times occult virtues have been attributed to precious stones, 
each gem being said to be under the influence of a planet and to 
belong to one of the zodiacal signs. 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 397 

Ch. xxi. 21-27 

21 The main-street of the city was pure gold, transparent as 
glass. 22 No adytum did I see in it; for the Master-God, the All- 
Dominator, and the Lamb are its adytum. 23 The city has no need 
of the sun, nor of the moon, to shine in it ; for the God's glory lights 
it up ; and its lamp is the Ram, 24 and the people shall walk in its 
light; and the rulers of the earth keep bringing their glory into it. 
25 Its gateways shall not at all be closed by day — for there shall 
be no night there. 26 [The rulers of the earth] shall bring the 
glory and the honor of the people into it; 2y and there shall not 
at all enter into it anything profane, or he who creates a stench and 
[acts] a lie, but only those who are registered in the Ram's scroll 
of life. 

COMMENTARY 

The broad street, or highway, of the solar forces, "the rulers 
from the Sun's place of birth," corresponds to the spinal cord of the 
physical body. But the complex structure of the gross form, with 
the numerous organs and functions made necessary by material con- 
ditions, is not duplicated in the spiritual body, which is formed of 
etheric fire, and is in direct relation with, and is sustained by, the 
cosmic and divine forces. 

That the Divine Self is the sole luminary of the spiritual world 
is repeatedly stated in the Upanishads, as in Katha Upanishad, 1. v. 
15 : "The sun does not shine there, nor the moon and the stars, nor 
these lightnings, and much less this fire. When he shines, every- 
thing shines after him; by his light all this is lighted." 

Chapter xxii. 1-5 

1 He showed me a pure river of the water of life, clear as crystal, 
flowing out of the throne of the God and of the Ram, 2 in the 
middle of its main-street ; and on one side of the river [was the tree 
of knowledge], and on the other was the tree of life, producing 
twelve fruits according to the months, each one yielding its fruit ; 
and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the people; 3 



398 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

and the accursed [function] shall not exist any more. The throne 
of the God and of the Ram shall be in it, and his slaves will serve 
him; 4 they will see his face, and his name [will be] on their fore- 
heads. 5 There will be no night there ; and they will have no need 
of lamp or light of the sun : for the Master-God will give them light, 
and they will rule throughout the aeons of the aeons. 

COMMENTARY 

The river of life and the two trees correspond to the three nadis; 
but, whereas in the physical body the triple current ascends to the 
brain from below, from the generative centres, in the solar body the 
"accursed" function, sex, does not exist, and the forces come from 
above, from the brain-region. In the inverted Logos, the "son of 
man," the creative centres are the lowest; in the Conqueror, who has 
become the "Son of the God," they are the highest. . The Arche- 
Logos is the "Witness" and has his "two witnesses," the three con- 
stituting the creative triad ; therefore he has his name written on his 
thigh. This is the secret meaning of the Kabbalistic maxim, Demon 
est Deits inversus. The generative function is strictly nothing but 
an animal one, and can never be anything else. True spirituality 
demands its utter extirpation ; and while its proper exercise for the 
continuation of the human race, in the semi-animal stage of its 
evolution, may not be considered sinful, its misuse in any way is 
fraught with the most terrible consequences physically, psychically 
and spiritually ; and the forces connected with it are used for abnor- 
mal purposes only in the foulest practices of sorcery, the inevitable 
result of which is moral death— the annihilation of the individuality. 
The only true creative function is that of the Nous, the godlike 
faculty of formative Thought. 

Conclusion 

Ch. xxii. 6-9 

6 He said to me : 

"These arcane doctrines are believable and true. The Master- 
God of the 'Breaths' of the seers sent his Divinitv to make known 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 399 

to his slaves the [perfections] which must be attained speedily. 7 
Behold ! I am coming speedily. Immortal is he who observes the 
arcane doctrines of the teaching of this scroll." 

8 I, Ioannes, am he who was seeing and hearing these [mys- 
teries] ; and when I heard and saw, I fell down to worship before 
the feet of the Divinity who was making known these [mysteries] 
to me. 9 And he says to me : 

"See to it [that you do] not. I am a fellow-slave with you and 
with your brothers, the seers, and those who observe the arcane doc- 
trines of the teachings of this scroll. Worship the God !" 

COMMENTARY 

The Breaths (pneumata) of the seers are the differentiated forces 
of the Pneuma, or Great Breath of Life, used by the seers in the 
telestic work, and are not the "spirits" of ancient worthies. The 
Arch-Divinity of these creative forces is the Nous. 

Nothing should be worshipped that has form or is individuated. 
The universal Divine Life is alone to be worshipped. There is no 
colorless pantheism in this concept; for the God of each man is one 
with the universal God : the Conqueror obtains the Universe, not by 
being absorbed and obliterated by it, but by transcending the limi- 
tations of his individual consciousness and partaking of the uni- 
versal Divine Consciousness. As an individual he loses nothing 
but his imperfections, but he gains the All, the "Origin and the 
Perfection." And this is Seership, which is not "prophecy," "sec- 
ond sight," or sense-perception on any plane of consciousness, but 
is Direct Cognition of Reality. 

Ch. xxii. 10-16 

10 And [again] he says to me : 

"Do not seal up the arcane doctrines of the teachings of this 
scroll; for the season is near. 11 The unjust, let him do injustice 
yet more ; the sordid, let him be made yet more sordid ; the just, let 
him do justice yet more ; and the devotee, let him be made yet more 
devoted. 12 Behold ! I am coming speedily, and my w r ages are with 
me, to pay off each [laborer] as his work is. 13 I am the Alpha and 



400 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

the O, the First [Adam] and the Last [Adam]', the Origin and the 
Perfection. 14 Immortal are those who are washing their robes 
so that they may have authority over the tree of life and may enter 
by the gateways into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs, the sor- 
cerers, the fornicators, the murderers, the phantom-servers, and 
every one who keeps sanctioning and acting a lie. 16 I, Iesous, 
have sent my Divinity to give evidence to you of these [works de- 
pending] upon the Societies. / am the Root and the Offspring of 
David, his bright and Morning Star." 

COMMENTARY 

The injunction not to seal up the teachings has been followed by 
the Apocalyptist ; for although his scroll is written in veiled lan- 
guage it is not "sealed" as in the case of a strictly occult book, which 
is written either in cipher or secret language, and can not be read 
without a key. Mystical works intended for general circulation are 
usually worded obscurely, being designed to elicit and cultivate the 
intuitive faculty of the reader ; and they are, almost without excep- 
tion, disconnected, fragmentary, and often interspersed with irrele- 
vant passages. But the Apocalypse contains its own key, and is 
complete in itself, coherent, and scrupulously accurate in every de- 
tail. The puzzles it contains are not intended to mislead or confuse ; 
on the contrary, they serve to verify the correct interpretation of 
the allegory. The book is not sealed to any one who has the devel- 
oped intuitive faculty, and for whom, therefore, the season, the 
springtime of noetic unfoldment, is near. 

Though the growth of the inner nature is a slow process during 
many incarnations, the recognition of the actuality of the soul, of 
the immanent higher mind, comes upon the man suddenly; as 
Ioannes reiterates, the Logos comes speedily, unexpectedly, as a 
thief in the night; and when it does come there is a balancing of 
merits and demerits. If his nature is sufficiently purified, the mystic 
tree of life (the speirema) is his, and by means of it he enters the 
holy city; otherwise he remains with "those without," the exoteri- 
cists, until he shall have "washed his robes" and thereby gained the 
right to employ the "Breaths of the seers." 



THE INITIATION OF IOANNES 401 

Those who keep fondly acting a lie are the formal religionists 
and exoteric ritualists who cling to and defend irrational dogmas 
and superstitions. 

The Divinity speaking to Ioannes is one of the septenary group 
who poured out the libations in the final ordeals ; he forbids the seer 
to worship him, declaring himself to be but a fellow-servitor ; then 
he announces himself as both the First and the Second Logos ; and 
lastly he calls himself Iesous, the incarnating Self of David. The 
Initiate has thus "gathered himself together," unifying his whole 
nature, and correlating his consciousness in the four worlds. 

Ch. xxii. 17-21 

17 Both the Breath and the Bride are saying, "Come!" Let him 
who hears say, "Come !" Let him who is athirst come ; and let him 
who is willing receive the water of life as a free gift. 

18 I am witness to every one who hears the arcane doctrines of 
the teaching of this scroll. If any one shall add [forgeries] to 
them, the God will add to him the retributions which are written 
in this scroll; 19 and if any one shall .take away [any portion] 
from the arcane doctrines of the scroll of this teaching, the God 
will take away his portion from the tree of life and from the holy 
city, [even from] the [initiations] which are described'in this scroll. 

20 He who gives evidence of these [arcane doctrines] says : 
"Verily, I am coming speedily." 

Amen. Come, Master Iesous ! 

21 The Grace of the Master Iesous be with the devotees. Amen. 

COMMENTARY 

In the days when books could be published only in the form of 
manuscripts it was comparatively easy for unscrupulous persons to 
alter them to suit their own views by expunging words and passages 
and by interpolating forgeries. Religious sectarians were particu- 
larly addicted to this form of literary vandalism, as is clearly evi- 
dent from the mutilated text of the New Testament. The state- 
ment that terrible consequences would result to any one tampering 
with the text of this scroll of Ioannes has doubtless stayed the hand 



402 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

of many a superstitious bigot, and has operated to preserve it intact ; 
but the warning is more than a mere idle threat, for the man who 
would maliciously mutilate this manual written for the spiritual 
guidance of the "little children" of the Logos would find a grave 
indictment charged against him when he came to be "judged accord- 
ing to his works." That the text has been preserved with remarka- 
ble purity is shown by the fact that the puzzles it contains have not 
been touched, though even slight changes by a meddlesome "redac- 
tor" might have ruined them. 

Even as the Light of the Logos keeps saying to mankind, "Come," 
so the learner, he who hears that summons, should repeat the call, 
tendering as a free gift the water of life to all who thirst for it 
and are willing to receive it. But woe to those who by attempting 
to trade in the things of the spirit have lost the key of the Gnosis, 
leaving themselves locked out and hindering those who were ready 
to enter ! 

Now, the Master Iesous is the Spiritual Mind of man, which alone 
can give absolute proof of the truth of the Life Eternal; and he 
indeed comes swiftly to those who make themselves pure and be- 
come worthy to utter the word of power — the Amen. 



INITIATION 

AS RECORDED IN THE SACRED ZODIACAL LANGUAGE BY A SEER 
(A Metrical Version of the Apocalypse) 

Subtitle and Dedication 

The true initiation of the soul, I. i 

Revealed, yet hidden, in this mystic scroll, 

The great All-Father, gracious Lord of Light, 

Bestowed upon the worthy neophyte 

To show to all on whom his rays are shed 5 

The path that only winged feet may tread : 

The Mind-born Self he sent from heavenly heights, 

And through that Self the pure perfective rites 

Revealed in symbols to the raptured Seer 

Whose visions faithfully are pictured here, 2 10 

In witness of the sceptred Lord of Thought 

And all the sacred mysteries which he taught. 

Immortal he who reads with inner sight, 3 

And they who hear his guarded words aright, 

Obeying all the precepts writ herein : 1 5 

For them the soul's glad Springtime shall begin. 

I. INTRODUCTION 
The Address to the Seven Planetary Hierarchies 

The Seer this message sends, to reprimand 4 

The seven Lodges in his native land : 

Greeting and peace, from the eternal King, 

The seven Gods that e'er his throne enring, 20 

And from the Self anointed by his rays, 5 

The faithful witness of the starry ways, 



404 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

The first to live anew in second birth, 

And Master of the myriad powers of earth. 

To him who bade us in his home abide, 25 

And with the ichor of the Crucified 

Washed us from sins, and did a realm ordain 6 

Wherein we serve at the All-Father's fane — 

To him, Sun-Regent of the starry dome, 

Ever be glory and dominion ! Om. 30 

Behold, he comes, in shining aether veiled, 7 

Seen by all eyes, and seen by them who nailed 

His limbs upon the cross ; all they, whose home 

Is dismal earth, o'er him shall sorrow. Om. 

"In me the seven sounding vowels merge," 8 35 

Saith the Supreme, to whom all things converge, 

The Lord who was, and is, and is to come, 

Sire of the Gods, and of all worlds the sum. 

The Sevenfold Sun-God 

Now, I your brother — I who with you share 9 

Initiation's ordeal, striving e'er 40 

To conquer self and wait with patience fine 

The coming of the deathless Self divine — 

Dwelt on a lonely island, for I fain 

Would wisdom master, and the Self attain. 

In sacred trance was I, upon the day 10 45 

That owns the golden Sun's benignant sway. 

I heard a voice behind me : loud and clear 

As trumpet-call these words rang in mine ear : 

"When in a scroll thy visions thou hast penned, II 

The message to the seven Lodges send — 50 

The Lodges that for several titles own 

The seven colors in the rainbow shown." 

And when I turned, the speaker to behold, 12 

I saw, midst seven lampstands all of gold, 

A shining form wherein a Seer might scan 13 55 

The starry glories of the Heavenly Man, 



INITIATION 405 

A likeness of the Self in whom unite 

The seven aspects of the Lord of Light : 

Down to the feet a clinging garment flowed, 

And round the breasts a golden girdle showed ; 60 

Whiter than snow his fleecy locks outstreamed; 14 

His piercing eyes with fire celestial gleamed; 

Like liquid silver were his shining feet, 15 

Silver that flows, yet not from furnace-heat ; 

His voice intoned the solemn mystery 65 

Of sounding billows on the surging sea; 

In his right hand seven brilliant stars he held ; 16 

And from his mouth, like fiery breath expelled, 

A sword, two-edged and keen, went forth amain ; 

And like the sun that lights the heavenly plain, 70 

Refulgent with a glory all its own, 

His beauteous face with light inherent shone. 

Prone at his feet I fell, as I were dead. 17 

On me he laid his strong right hand, and said : 

"Be fearless, and behold me : I am Man 75 

As he was fashioned ere the world began, 

And I am Man whose eager feet have trod 

The straitened path that finds the realm of God. 

Yea, I am Man immortal ; yet I died, 18 

In mortal form for ages crucified. 80 

Lo, I have risen : through the gate of gold 

Have passed to life eternal; and I hold 

The keys to those two portals set between 

The world of mortals and the worlds unseen. 

Write, then, the visions of thy supersight, 19 85 

Where present, past and future reunite. 

The mystery of the seven lamps of heaven — 20 

The stars I held — and of the lampstands seven 

Is this : the stars, as radiant powers of mind, 

To rule the seven Lodges are designed ; 90 

The seven stands the seven Lodges are : 

Each golden stand has thus its lamp-like star. 



406 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

The Message to the Hierarchy of Kronos 

To him who once was throned in heaven's height, II. i 

Now Regent of the Yellow Lodge, thus write: 

These words are his on whose right hand are strung 95 

The seven stars, who stately walks among 

The seven golden lampstands: Well I know 2 

The arduous labors that you undergo, 

Your patient waiting that defies despair, 

And that faint-hearted men you can not bear. 100 

And those who falsely claimed to come from me 

You placed on trial, and proved their falsity. 

With patience you endured for my name's sake, 3 

And wearied not. But this complaint I make 4 

Against you, that you left your early love. 105 

Remember, therefore, how from heaven above 5 

You fell to earth, and with your zeal renewed 

Perform the first great works of sanctitude, 

Lest I, when I am come, award disgrace, 

And move your lampstand from its wonted place. no 

But this great virtue is in you innate, 6 

That phallic worshippers you justly hate, 

Shunning with horror and disgust all them 

Whom I for their impurity contemn. 

Hear, ye who can, the words the Breath of Heaven 7 115 

Is saying to the mystic Lodges seven. 

The Conqueror shall hunger nevermore : 

For I shall give him power perpetual o'er 

The Tree of Life, whose golden fruitage nods 

Transcendent in the Garden of the Gods. 120 

The Message to the Hierarchy of Zeus 

Thus to the Regent of the Blue Lodge write : 8 

Attend the words of him who from the night 
Of dim non-being was the first to wake, 
And first the iron bonds of earth to break, 



INITIATION 407 

And who from spheres of darkness and of death 125 

Arose to life eternal. Thus he saith: 

I know your works, and that, brain-cribbed, you chafe 9 

When Wisdom to your questions will vouchsafe 

No answer; yet if she your plea disdains, 

Your wealth of useless learning still remains! 130 

And well I know the wretches misbegot 

Who claim to be initiates — and are not, 

But are a Lodge of Blackness and a mart 

For every vile and deadly secret art. 

Fear not the trials you must soon endure : 10 135 

Behold, the dread Accuser shall immure 

Within his prison walls a few of you, 

To put you to the test, and you shall rue 

A ten-days' fast. Your faith till death retain, 

And you the crown of life shall surely gain. 140 

Hear, ye who can, the words the Breath of Heaven 11 

Is saying to the mystic Lodges seven. 

The Conqueror, safe in that mighty Breath, 

Shall ne'er be injured by the second death. 

The Message to the Hierarchy of Ares 

To him who sternly rules with martial might, 12 145 

As Regent of the strong Red Lodge, thus write : 

These words are his who has forevermore 

The sharp two-edged sword of magic lore : 

I know your valiant deeds and where you dwell— 13 

The Adversary's throne and citadel. 150 

Undaunted you are holding fast my name, 

And you did not my holy faith disclaim 

What time my faithful Witness, who was skilled 

Erstwhile the future to foretell, was killed 

Among you, in the Lodge where hides from view 155 

The lying Adversary of the True. 

And yet I have a few complaints to bring 14 

Against you : some among your number cling 



4o8 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

To evil rites, and giving way to hate 

With curses would their foes annihilate, 160 

And, seeking sorcery's fell powers to win, 

Eat demons' food and practise nameless sin ; 

And you have likewise others who consult 1 5 

The filthy teaching of the phallic cult. 

Reform, or I shall come to you with speed 16 165 

And with my magic sword confute their creed. 

Hear, ye who can, the words the Breath of Heaven 17 

Is saying to the mystic Lodges seven. 

The Conqueror I shall reward with food 

Ambrosial, that his mind may be imbued 170 

With deathless truth ; and unto him, mine own, 

I shall present a precious pearly stone, 

And on the stone a sacred new name writ, 

Known only unto him receiving it. 

The Message to the Hierarchy of Helios 

To him who rules among the powers of light, 18 175 

The sunlike Regent of the Green Lodge, write : 

Thus saith the Self -born, whose all-seeing eyes 

Shine with the golden fire that glorifies 

The solar orb, and who has feet that glow 

Like liquid silver pure and bright : I know 19 180 

Your works, and your devotion, faithfulness, 

Your drudgery, and patience under stress, 

And that your final deeds shall far outshine 

The first ones, when you rule by right divine. 

Against you, though, I make this one complaint, 20 185 

That you have failed to place in due restraint 

Your wife, that wanton witch, who falsely claims 

To be a seeress : teaching, she inflames 

My followers with lust, and they partake 

Of demon--food, and my pure feast forsake. 190 

I gave her time from evil ways to turn ; 21 

But she prefers with lustful fires to burn. 



INITIATION 409 

Behold, this vile and shameless charlatan 22 

I cast upon a bed procrustean, 

And all who dally with her doctrines lewd, 195 

Unless they turn again to rectitude, 

I shall condemn to weary lives on earth, 

Bound, like Ixion, to the wheel of birth. 

And in the world of mortals I shall kill 23 

The demon-brood engendered by her will. 200 

The Lodges all shall know that I am he 

Who searches loins and hearts, to oversee 

All works creative, and all works that find 

Treasures of knowledge in the cosmic mind ; 

And I shall give to each his rightful share 205 

Of knowledge, weighing all his works with care. 

But this I say to you, to all the rest, 24 

Who in the Green Lodge lag in learning's quest — 

Who have not sounded, as the saying goes, 

The depths of mind — on you I shall impose 210 

No other load ; yet if you have one crumb 25 

Of learning, hold it fast until I come. 

The Conqueror, and he who watches o'er 26 

My rites arcane till time shall be no more, 

Shall have authority, by me conferred, 215 

To rule all nations : o'er the human herd, 27 

Who now are being crushed like things of clay, 

He shall with golden wand hold gentle sway, 

Even as I my Father's kingship keep, 

And am the loving shepherd of my sheep ; 220 

And on the Conqueror I shall bestow 28 

The star that heralds the auroral glow. 

Hear, ye who can, the words the Breath of Heaven 29 

Is saying to the mystic Lodges seven. 

The Message to the Hierarchy of Aphrodite 

And to the Regent vain and beauteous III. 1 225 

Who feebly rules the Dark-Blue Lodge, write thus : 



410 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

These words are from the Self in whom combine 

The seven aethers and their stars divine : 

I know your works, and though by all 't is said 

That you are living, you in truth are dead. 230 

Awake to life and fervently revive 2 

The few emotions lingering alive ; 

For I have found, of all your works, not one 

That has before my God been fully done — 

No aspiration realized, no thought 235 

Of pure devotion but has led to naught. 

Remember therefore how you did receive 3 

And hear this message, and your faults retrieve. 

If, then, you shall not faithful vigil keep, 

Lo, I shall steal upon you while you sleep, 240 

And you, in slumber lost, shall not surmise 

What hour my advent will your sloth surprise. 

And yet within your Dark-Blue Lodge remain 4 

A few who kept their garments free from stain, 

And these deserving ones shall walk with me 245 

Arrayed in the white garb of purity. 

The Conqueror shall thus be robed in white ; 5 

And in the book of life his name of light 

I shall preserve forever, "and his name 

Before my Father and the Gods proclaim. 25c 

Hear, ye who can, the words the Breath of Heaven 6 

Is saying to the mystic Lodges seven. 

The Message to the Hierarchy of Hermes 

To him who holds the gold caduceus, 7 

The Regent of the Orange Lodge, write thus : 

These words are his, the chaste Reality, 255 

The keeper of the portal's golden key, 

Who opens Wisdom's door, and none can close 

To those on whom his welcome he bestows, 

And closes it to minds unpurified, 

And none can open who are thus denied : 260 



INITIATION 411 

I know your works (behold, I oped for you 8 

The door which none can close or veil from view). 

A little intuition you retain, 

And you have guarded well my lore arcane, 

Nor e'er denied my name. Behold, of those 9 265 

Who are the Adversary's and compose 

The Lodge of Darkness — who, when they assert 

That they are mystics, holy truths pervert — 

A few I shall reclaim, and shall compel 

To come and do you homage, knowing well 270 

That you are my beloved. In that you 10 

Have guarded well the teaching, known to few, 

Of my divine delay, so at the hour, 

Soon coming, when the liberated Power 

Throughout the trembling earth shall manifest 275 

The Self all-glorious, and put to test 

The dwellers on the earth, I shall protect 

And safely keep you as mine own elect. 

On winged feet I come. Hold your renown, 1 1 

That none may wrest from you your golden crown. 280 

The Conqueror I gladly shall ordain 12 

To be a pillar in my God's own fane, 

And nevermore, to birth and death a prey, 

Shall he go forth to wear the form of clay ; 

But he shall wear a form of dazzling light, 285 

Whereon in fadeless letters I shall write 

My God's own name ineffable, the name 

Of that supernal city he can claim 

For his abode within the realm divine, 

And that new name which in the heavens is mine. 290 

Hear, ye who can, the words the Breath of Heaven 13 

Is saying to the mystic Lodges seven. 

The Message to the Hierarchy of Selene 

And to the Regent, silvery queen of night, 14 

Who fondly rules the Violet Lodge, thus write : 



412 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Attend the message of the Om, the Word 295 

Through which the Truth supernal is averred, 

The source of Being, and the vital Breath 

Of the created universe. It saith : 

I know the works assigned to you of old, 15 

And know that you are neither hot nor cold, 300 

Not fired by zeal, nor calm with tranquil thought. 

Would you were either hot or cold, and not 16 

Lukewarm and nauseous, so that now I fain 

Would spew you from my mouth in fair disdain ! 

Because you say, 'I have amassed a store 17 305 

Of wondrous riches, and need nothing more,' 

And know not that of all the powers of mind 

You are -the starveling, piteous and blind, 

A beggar, ragged near to nudity, 

I therefore counsel you to buy of me 18 310 

Gold pure as Wisdom, tested in the fire, 

That you may thus enduring wealth acquire, 

And garments white as Truth, that you may clothe 

Yourself in beauty, not in rags you loathe, 

And magic salve wherewith your eyes to smear, 315 

That you may share the vision of the Seer. 

All whom I love I teach, but first confute, 19 

Thus from their minds all errors to uproot : 

For truth by biased minds is ne'er divined ; 

Therefore seek wisdom, but first cleanse the mind. 320 

Behold, I stand before the door and knock : 20 

If any man shall hear me, and unlock 

The door with welcome, I his guest will be, 

And I will dine with him, and he with me. 

The Conqueror I shall a place assign 21 325 

With me upon my throne, as it was mine 

To conquer, and to make the realm mine own, 

Seated beside my Father on his throne. 

Hear, ye who can, the words the Breath of Heaven 22 

Is saying to the mystic Lodges seven." 330 



INITIATION 413 

The Enthroned Sun-God and His Powers 

The vision vanished; then before mine eyes IV. I 

A portal opened in the azure skies. 

The voice of him, the primal Self, I heard, 

Which like a trumpet-call my being stirred : 

"Hither ascend, and in the heavenly fane 335 

Behold the glories thou must yet attain, 

The holy mysteries which the Seer enshrines 

In mystic symbols and in starry signs." 

Straightway I rose, upborne in sacred trance : 2 

Behold, a throne was placed in Heaven' s expanse ; 340 

And seated on that bright celestial throne 3 

The Lord of Being, all effulgent, shone. 

His dazzling form, by opal-colors starred, 

Was like the lustrous and flesh-tinted sard. 

Wreathing the throne an iris-bow revealed 345 

Its banded colors on an emerald field. 

And in a circle round the throne disposed 4 

Were twice twelve thrones, and on them were disclosed 

The four and twenty Ancients, robed in white, 

And wearing golden crowns. The throne was bright 5 350 

With dazzling lightnings, whence the solemn sound 

Of seven voice ful thunders echoed round. 

Before the throne were flaming torches seven, 

Which are the seven aethers lit in heaven, 

And which before the throne effulgent shine, 6 355 

As though a sea of essence crystalline. 

Around the throne, at all four points of space, 

Four Beings stood, in each appointed place. 

The first of these symbolic Beings bore 7 

A Lion's likeness, and the second wore 360 

The semblance of a Bull ; the third alone 

Had human face — the Water-pourer's own. 

The fourth was seemingly a monstrous thing, 

A Scorpion with curving claws and sting ; 



414 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

And yet a fifth, an Eagle, wings outspread, 365 

Rose from the throne and hovered overhead. 

Six wings each Being had, wherewith to trace 8 

The six directions of objective space; 

Their myriad eyes within and outward gaze, 

And day and night this paean e'er they raise : 370 

"Thrice holy is the changeless Self sublime, 

The God of Gods and Lord of triune Time." 

And ever as the godlike Beings raise 9 

Their hymn of glory, reverence and praise 

To the Enthroned, the Solar King who reigns 375 

O'er all the ^Eons, and in all domains, 

The four and twenty Ancients, falling down, 10 

Each in his turn and casting down his crown 

Before the throne, shall greet the Lord of Years 

With choral music of the rolling spheres : 380 

"O thou, our Master-God, in essence trine, 1 1 

May glory, power and reverence be thine : 

For thou didst first the boundless heavens unroll, 

And spread abroad the universal whole ; 

The circling spheres that chant their mystic strains 385 

Thy word created, and thy will sustains." 



II. THE INITIATION BY THE SUPERNAL WATER 
The Book of the Psychic Mysteries 

And now a little book my gaze compelled— V. 1 

In his right hand the God of Being held 

A little scroll, a cryptic zodiac, 

Written within, and also at the back, 390 

And sealed with seven seals, securely framed. 

A mighty God with clarion voice proclaimed : 2 

"Who worthy is to take the scroll of thee, 

Open its seals, and solve its mystery ?" 



INITIATION 415 

In heaven, on earth, or in the realm of night 3 395 

Where Plouton reigns, no one had won the right 

To ope the scroll, or even to behold 

That mystic scripture of the Seers of old. 

And much I wept, that all were found unfit 4 

To ope the scroll, or e'en to look at it, 400 

Leaving the scroll unopened and unread. 

A gracious Ancient turned to me and said : 5 

"Weep not. Behold, the lion-hearted one, 

Who draws his force from the red-rising sun, 

Has conquered, and his dauntless soul reveals 405 

The strength to claim the scroll and ope its seals." 

Then I saw standing at the golden throne 6 

Which the four Beings and the Ancients zone 

A Lamb, as one in sacrificial guise, 

And he had seven horns, and seven eyes — 410 

The seven solar aethers which disperse 

Through all the regions of the universe. 

He came, and he has taken as his own 7 

The scroll from Him who sits upon the throne. 

And when he thus the scroll his own had made, 8 415 

The Beings and the Ancients homage paid 

To the victorious Lamb. Sweet lyres had they, 

And golden bowls with incense filled alway ; 

Fragrant lustrations made by devotees — 

Their aspirations after God — are these. 420 

And then with praise the radiant heavens rang, 9 

As this new song the starry regents sang : 

"Worthy art thou the sacred scroll to gain, 

And open all its seals ; for thou wast slain, 

And with thy blood (the pure sethereal stream 425 

Of solar gold) didst buy for the Supreme 

The worthy ones of every tribe and tongue, 

And race and color, since the world was young, 

And mad'st on earth for them a realm divine 10 

Whose rulers all are devotees of thine." 430 



416 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

And all the radiant Gods in heaven's expanse, 1 1 

Moving as in a mighty cosmic dance, 

With choral music, round the Powers who gird 

The Sun-God's throne, entranced I saw and heard ; 

In countless thousands, the celestial throng 435 

Poured forth the chorus of the praise ful song : 12 

"Worthy the sacrificial Lamb to gain 

The seven rewards the victor must attain — 

The power, the wealth, the skill, the sturdy frame, 

The reverence, the glory and good fame!" 440 

From all the demigods who sanctify 13 

The fourfold elements of earth, and sky, 

And sea, and Orcus — from sweet-smelling Earth, 

And rushing Air, from Water that takes birth 

In Ocean's fount, and from the Fire that glows 445 

In Nature's heart — a song of love arose : 

"To the enthroned Eternal, the Supreme, 

And to the Lamb in whom the Sun-fires gleam, 

Be honor, glory, praise and sovereignty 

Through ^Eons limitless and sorrow-free." 450 

"Om" said the sacred Four; and falling prone, 14 

The Ancients worshipped at the dazzling throne. 

The Neophyte Opens the Seven Seals 

And when the Lamb one seal had opened wide, VI. 1 

The first of the four glorious Beings cried, 

In tones of thunder, "Come !" Emerged to sight 2 455 

A wondrous horse, in color snowy white. 

Its rider had a bow ; a crown with rays 

Such as the golden sun at dawn displays 

Was given him, and forth he swiftly went, 

A conqueror, on valorous deeds intent. 460 

The second seal he opened ; then in turn, 3 

"Come !" cried the second Being, loud and stern. 

Another horse came forth ; 't was flaming red : 4 

Its rider, God of War, destruction spread 



INITIATION 417 

O'er all the earth with his unpitying sword, 465 

Till Peace took flight, and blood in torrents poured. 

The third seal opened, the third Being cried, 5 

"Come !" and a jet-black horse I then espied : 

Its rider held a balance in his hand. 

The soaring Eagle — who is in command 6 470 

Of the four Beings — proclamation made: 

"A day's wage for a quart of wheat is paid, 

Or three of barley; therefore when you dine 

Portion with niggard care the oil and wine !" 

The fourth seal then was opened, and I heard 7 475 

The fourth great Being cry aloud the word, 

"Come!" and a dun horse, savage and untamed, 8 

Sprang fiercely forth : its rider "Death" is named — 

Ruling the world of men. Behind him rode 

Grim Plouton, Regent of the dark abode. 480 

That quarter of the earth o'er which they reign 

Is scarred by battle-fields strewn with the slain, 

While famine, plagues and bestial passions claim 

More victims than the sword can kill or maim. 

When the fifth seal was opened I descried, 9 485 

Beneath the altar, all the souls that bide 

The coming of the Self — the souls of those 

Who died for Wisdom's sake, and to disclose, 

In coming ages, truths that still remain 

A secret lore, mysterious and arcane. 490 

And now, awakened, they complained anew : 10 

"O thou Supreme, the Holy and the True, 

How long wilt thou in lenience delay 

To vindicate us, and with justice weigh 

Our righteous blood against the blood of them 495 

Who slew us, and who now thy truths contemn?" 

To each was given a robe of purest white, 11 

And they were told to bide their evil plight 

Until their brothers and companions, doomed 

As they had been, were martyred and entombed. 500 



418 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

The sixth seal now was opened : earth was torn 12 

With seismic shocks ; the darkened sun was shorn 

Of all his golden rays ; the silvery moon 

Became as blood ; the stars of heaven were strewn 13 

Upon the earth, as when a fig-tree casts 505 

Her fruit untimely, shaken by rude blasts ; 

The sky was rolled together like a scroll, 1 ± 

And vanished ; every mountain, hill and knoll 

Moved onward, and each island in the sea, 

Broken from its foundation, drifted free. 510 

The kings of earth, the potentates, the heads 15 

Of mighty armies, those whom wealth besteads, 

The men of strength, and all, both free and slaves, 

Hid them in mountain-clefts and gloomy caves ; 

And to the mountains and the crags they cried : 16 515 

"Fall on us, O ye craggy cliffs, and hide 

Us, cowering, from the throned God's awful gaze, 

And from the fury which the Lamb displays ; 

Their day of sacred frenzy is at hand, 17 

The hour of doom is come — and who can stand?" 520 

The Five Solar Life-Breaths, and the Twelve Celestial Hierarchies 

And next I saw four Regent-Gods, who reign VII. 1 

At earth's four corners, and the winds restrain, 

That o'er the placid earth no faintest breeze 

Might ripple on the sea, or stir the trees. 

Another Regent, glorious counterpart 2 525 

Of Being's Lord, rose from the pulsing heart 

Of the Life-giving Sun, the heavenly king. 

He bore the Life-God's regal signet-ring; 

And to the Regents of the sea and land 

With a sonorous voice he gave command : 3 530 

"Let no wind blow on land or sea, to fret 

The waveless surface of the sea, nor yet 

To sway the leafy trees, till we have sealed 

Upon their foreheads all the saints who yield 



INITIATION 

Allegiance to our God, and who through strife 

Have won their way to the eternal life." 

And when the royal seal had been applied, 

I heard the number of the sanctified : 

Twelve times twelve thousand was the number sealed, 

Twelve times a thousand for each sign revealed 

In that celestial zone that marks the way 

Wherein revolves the golden orb of day. 

These are the signs : the Ram with golden horns ; 

The Bull, whose front the Hyad-group adorns ; 

The mighty Twins ; the Crab with curving claws ; 

The Lion, tawny-maned, with massive jaws ; 

The winged Virgin, whose clenched fingers hold 

An ear of corn; the Balance, called of old 

The Scorpion's Claws (too large for him to own) ; 

The strong-tailed Scorpion, who is sometimes shown 

Grasping a solar altar, lamp or ring; 

The Bowman, with an arrow drawn to string ; 

The Goat-horned creature of the watery main; 

The Water-pourer, and the Fishes twain. 

I saw a throng innumerable, sprung 

From every nation, race, degree and tongue : 

Before the Sun-throne and the Lamb they stood, 

White-robed and pure, a glorious brotherhood. 

And waving palm-leaves, thus the mighty throng 

Lifted their voices in triumphant song: 

"Salvation to our Sun-throned God of Peace, 

And to the Lamb with radiant golden fleece." 

And all the Gods who at the throne adore, 

Circling the Ancients and the sacred Four, 

Before the throne fell prostrate, worshipping 

With choral song the universal King : 

(C Om. May laudation, glory, sacred lore, 

Thanks, honor, force and strength forevermore 

Be his whose throne rests on the heavenly dome — 

Our God and our eternal Father. Om." 



8 



10 



ii 



12 



419 

535 



54o 



545 



55o 



555 



560 



565 



57o 



420 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

One of the holy Ancients said to me : 13 

"These many white-robed worshippers you see — 

Who are they, and whence came they?" I replied : 14 

''My Lord, thou knowest." Then he testified 

To me : "These are the conquerors who come 575 

From that dark sphere of soul-delirium 

Which men call earth. Its trials they endured, 

And wisely all its witcheries abjured. 

They washed their robes of its defiling mud, . 

And bleached them in the Lamb's aethereal blood : 580 

To aether pure they rose from earth's foul mire, 1 5 

And stand before the Sun-God's throne of fire; 

And in his sanctuary day and night 

They serve him ; and the radiant Lord of Light 

Shall show to them, where'er his rays are shed, 585 

The whole vast cosmos as his temple spread. 

And nevermore shall they, by priests aspersed, 16 

For truth go hungry or for wisdom thirst, 

Or feel the brain on fire with baffling thought, 

Its holy intuitions burned to naught : 590 

For now the Lamb who shares the throne of God 17 

And leads the starry flocks with magic rod 

Shall be their shepherd, and with them shall go 

To wisdom's fount, where living waters flow ; 

And nevermore shall tears bedim their sight 595 

Whose eyes are open to that realm of light." 

The seventh seal he oped, and for a space VIII. 1 

The Silence brooded o'er the hallowed place : 

The scroll was opened, the first conquest won, 

And on the Lamb Peace breathed her benison. 600 

III. THE INITIATION BY THE SUPERNAL AIR 

The Seven Calls to the Spiritual Life 

I saw the seven Gods who move alway 2 

In circling paths about the Lord of Day : 



INITIATION 421 

As Regents of the aether sevenfold, 

Its seven trumpets, silver-tongued, they hold ; 

Then came another radiant God, who rose 3 605 

Above the altar where the sun-fire glows, 

Having a golden censer and a store 

Of incense as an offering to pour, 

With prayers which all the devotees intone 

Upon the golden altar near the throne; 610 

And from his hand the fragrant incense, wreathed 4 

With fervent prayers by holy men outbreathed, 

Was wafted up before the throned Sire. 

The God then filled his censer with the fire 5 

Which burns upon the altar, and he strewed 615 

The fire o'er all the earth, and there ensued 

The voices of the thunders, with the flash 

Of lightnings, and an earthquake's mighty crash. 

The seven Gods who had the trumpets all 6 

Prepared themselves to give the trumpet-call. 620 

The first God blew a rousing trumpet-blast, 7 

And hail and fire, combined with blood, were cast 

Into the earth ; and of the earth a third, 

By fire consumed, in ashes was interred, 

Of trees a third to embers black were turned, 625 

And all the verdant grass was wholly burned. 

The second God then sounded ; there was hurled 8 

Into the sea the navel of the world, 

Which like a vast volcano breathed out fire. 

The sea's third part, the waters of desire, 630 

Was changed to blood, and in that crimson tide 9 

A third of all the psychic creatures died, ' 

And of the ships that by its waves are tossed 

A third were wrecked and in its depths were lost. 

The third celestial trumpeter sent far 10 635 

The rousing strain, and from the sky a star, 

Superb, and like a torch enkindled, fell 

Upon the streams' third part, and founts where well 



422 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

The living waters. "Wormwood" is the name u 

Given the star ; the waters' third became 640 

As wormwood, and the many men who drank 

The bitter waters into Orcus sank. 

The fourth God sounded: the Cloud-gatherer blurred 12 

Of sun and moon and stars, each one, a third, 

That day should lose one-third of aH its light, 645 

And likewise darkened be one-third of night. 

I saw the Eagle soaring in mid-sky, 13 

And heard him with a voice stentorian cry : 

"Thrice woe to the earth-dwellers ! Woes befall 

When sound the next three Gods the trumpet-call." 650 

The fifth God gave the trumpet-call : behold, IX. 1 

I saw a star which in the days of old 

Had gleamed in highest heaven, but now must plod 

Through earthly mire, a dimmed and fallen God. 

The key which opes the well-like orifice 655 

That leads to the Ploutonian abyss 

Was given him, and when he opened it 2 

Dense smoke ascended from the dreadful pit, 

As from a mighty furnace, and the sun 

Through smoke-beclouded air showed dim and dun; 660 

And from the smoke came locusts in a shower 3 

Upon the earth. To them was given the power 

That scorpions have on earth, and stern command 4 

Was given them, that o'er the fruitful land 

The herbage, or the leaves of shrub or tree, 665 

They should not damage, but their right should be 

To punish men who on their brow have not 

The seal of the eternal Lord of Thought; 

And these they were commanded not to kill, 5 

But to torment them, and five months to fill 670 

With torture ; and such pain to man they bring 

As when he feels the scorpion's cruel sting. 

Now, in those bitter days profane mankind 6 

Shall seek for Death, and him shall nowhere find, 



INITIATION 423 

And long for Death from pain to set them free, 675 

But Death disdainfully from them shall flee. 

The locust-creatures, weird and singular, 7 

Resembled horses when prepared f 6*r war ; 

And they had bands like crowns of tinsel gold 

Upon their heads ; their faces wore the mould 680 

Of human features, and their hair was long 8 

Like women's flowing locks, their teeth were strong 

Like teeth of lions ; their thoraces bare 9 

Were like the iron breastplates warriors wear. 

Their wings gave forth a mighty rushing sound 685 

Like that which rises from the battle-ground 

When hosts of warriors in their chariots go, 

With horses galloping, against the foe. 

And they have scorpion-tails, which terminate 10 

In cruel stings ; and with the power of hate 690 

Five months they rule mankind. A king have they, 1 1 

The God who o'er the dark abyss holds sway ; 

And by the wise this Fallen Star is known 

As the Destroyer, dread Apollyon. 

Then cried the Eagle : "That first woe is past; 12 695 

Behold, two other woes shall follow fast." 

The sixth God sounded, and the radiant one 13 

Above the four-horned altar of the sun, 

The Solar King's Vicegerent, gave command 14 

To him with the sixth trumpet in his hand : 700 

"Set free my four companions, God's uncrowned, 

Who at the River of the Sky are bound." 

The four great manifested Gods were freed, 15 

Who erst at Time's beginning were decreed 

To rule its fourfold cycles, gathering power 705 

Throughout each year, and month, and day, and hour, 

To burst the bonds of time, and slay a third 

Of all the evil and time-serving herd. 

The number of the hosts of cavalry 16 

Was full two hundred millions ; thus to me 710 



424 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Was told the number, and 't was thus I saw 17 

The visioned horses, and the forms of awe 

Which rode them, wearing breastplates rich in hue 

Of fiery red, and lustrous smoky blue, 

And sulphurous yellow. And the mystic steeds 715 

Have heads like lions'. From their mouth proceeds 

Trine breath of sulphur, smoke and fire : this breath 18 

Of triple retribution smote with death 

The third of men, who met their dreadful doom 

In fire, and smoke, and lethal sulphur-fume. 720 

For thus the power these horses that avails 19 

Is in their mouth and in their deadly tails ; 

For snake-like tails have they, that end in heads, 

Wherewith they cause such pangs as mortal dreads. 

The men surviving, whom the triple fire 20 725 

Had not destroyed, changed not their fell desire, 

Their lust for life external, nor forbore 

To worship blindly, as they did before, 

The evil spirits, and as Gods to throne 

Idols of gold and silver, bronze and stone, 730 

And wood — to which in idle prayers they talk, 

But which can neither see, nor hear, nor walk. 

And, unrepentant, they did not forbear 21 

To murder, and in sorcery's rites to share, 

To live in lewdness, and by craft or stealth 735 

To part the toilers from their hard-earned wealth. 

The Book of the Spiritual Mysteries 

I saw descending from the spatial height X. 1 

The God who gives to Seers their piercing sight : 

In shining aether was his form arrayed, 

And o'er his head soft rainbow colors played ; 740 

His face the sun's refulgent glory showed, 

And bright his feet like fiery pillars glowed. 

An open book, a little scroll, had he, 2 

Upheld to view. His right foot on the sea 



INITIATION 425 

And left foot on the earth he set, and cried 3 745 

With voice that well the lion's roar outvied ; " 

And when he cried, the seven Thunders spoke 

The vowel-sounds by which the Seers invoke 

The holy Powers that bountifully give 

The wisdom secret and intuitive. 750 

On written pages I would fain have spread 4 

Their teaching ; but a voice supernal said : 

"Write not what thus the Thunders have revealed, 

But leave their sacred mystery closely sealed." 

And then the God who stood on sea and land 5 755 

Held up to heaven his glorious right hand, 

And by the Eternal, whence did emanate 6 

Earth, sky and sea, and all things small and great 

In the three worlds external, thus he swore : 

"The Great Illusion, Time, shall be no more ; 760 

But whensoe'er the seventh God has blown 7 

His trumpet, in the days attuned in tone 

Accordant with his voice, the Mystery 

Of the Eternal shall be known to thee, 

As promised those who strive for vision clear — 765 

The time-unbounded vision of the Seer." 

And then to me the voice supernal said : 8 

"Go, take the scroll, unfolded and unread 

Extended by the God, munificent, 

Standing on sea and earth." Therefore I went 9 770 

Unto the God and asked him for the scroll. 

He answered : "Take it, and devour the whole ; 

Within your belly bitterer than gall 

Will be its contents, for it changes all 

Desires to poison ; but your mouth shall taste 775 

The honey-sweet delights of Wisdom chaste." 

And so I took the little scroll he held; 10 

And when I ate it, words of sweetness welled 

Like living waters from my mouth : the force 

Of my desires turned bitter at its source ; 780 



426 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

And now to me, instructed thus, alway 1 1 

The voices of the seven Thunders say: 

"Thus grounded in the knowledge of the True, 

'T is thine to bring the sacred truths anew 

To those four grades of men who are untaught, 785 

Confuting them who pose as kings of thought." 

The Wand of Hermes— The Two Witnesses of the Lord 
of Occult Wisdom 

Then he who is of sacred lore the God XL 1 

Gave me the winged and serpent-woven rod 

Which is his staff of office. He, my guide 

On Wisdom's path, with voice mellifluent cried : 790 

"Rouse thee, and measure with the sacred wand 

The fane supernal, inmost and beyond, 

The square-hewn altar, and the multitude 

Who worship ; but the outer court exclude, 2 

Nor measure it, for unto men profane 795 

It has been given, and forty months and twain 

Shall they unchecked the sacred city tread ; 

And I shall give it, when that time has sped, 3 

To my two witnesses, and clothed in rough 

And homely garments, they with voices gruff 800 

Shall teach twelve hundred sixty days." Now these 4 

Two witnesses are the two olive-trees, 

And lampstands twain — the lights of death and birth — 

That stand before the Regent of the Earth. 

Should evil men on them their will impose, 5 805 

Fire issues from their mouth and slays their foes ; 

And thus must every sinful man be slain 

Who uses wrongfully the sacred twain. 

These witnesses have power to shut the sky, 6 

That no downpouring waters may defy 810 

The ardency with which they teach, or chill 

The living fires that work their holy will : 



INITIATION 427 

For they have breath of fire, and ever speak 

In words of flame ; and they have power to wreak 

Just vengeance on the waters, and to turn 815 

The waters into blood, and mete out stern, 

Swift retribution, when occasion needs, 

To mortals who persist in evil deeds. 

When they have thus borne witness, and have ceased 7 

Their labors for a while, the savage Beast 820 

Who lurks in the abyss, and prowls for prey, 

Them shall attack, and conquering shall slay. 

Their lifeless bodies in the main-street sprawl 8 

Of that great city which the mystics call 

The "Realm of Night" and "City Crimson-dyed," 825 

In which their Lord was also crucified. 

And some among the four appointed grades 9 

Which give profane mankind its varying shades 

Regard those hallowed corpses, and forbid 

That in a house of death they should be hid ; 830 

And thus to them for three days and a half 

The tomb remains an idle cenotaph. 

And they whose minds are rooted in the earth 10 

Rejoice o'er them, and yield to witless mirth; 

And they shall send each other gifts, as one 835 

Who seeks to bribe his conscience, thus to shun 

Its accusations ; for these teachers twain 

Tormented those who are of earthly strain. 

And when the three and one-half days were gone 1 1 

The breath of life awaked them, and anon 840 

They stood upon their feet, and sudden dread 

Seized all beholders of the risen dead. 

A wondrous voice that came from heaven they heard 12 

Saying to them, "Come hither." At the word 

Straightway upon a shining cloud they rose 845 

Into the sky, beheld by all their foes. 

That very hour a frightful earthquake came 13 

To decimate that city dead to shame, 



428 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

And of the dwellers who its precincts filled 

Full seven thousand luckless wights were killed. 850 

The rest, affrighted, raised their voice on high 

To glorify the Regent of the Sky. 

Again the Eagle cried : "The second woe 14 

Is past; the third shall quickly come and go." 

The seventh God's awaking trumpet blared, 15 855 

And thunderous voices in the sky declared : 

"Now shall the realm of Time to naught disperse; 

And then a new, enduring universe 

The Conqueror shall royally attain, 

And through the endless aeons he shall reign." 860 

The twice-twelve Ancients, each upon his throne, 16 

Circling the Sun-God in the planet-zone, 

Bowed low in worship ; and the star-vault rang 

With planetary music as they sang : 17 

"Eternal Self of All, omnipotent, 865 

Of Gods and men the Sire, in whom are blent 

The future and the past, to thee we raise 

Our song of gratitude, and thee we praise, 

Because thou hast thy royal power resumed, 

And with thy light the universe illumed. 870 

The people were with furious passions torn ; 18 

And thy creative fury then was born : 

The time had come, with evil passions rife, 

To render judgment on the dead-in-life, 

Rewarding thy devoted saints, the Seers, 875 

And every mortal who thy name reveres, 

And them destroying who in maddened mirth 

Are now destroying the all-suffering earth." 

The inner temple of the God of Light 19 

Was opened in the blue sethereal height ; 880 

And in his temple, where twain powers reposed, 

The Vessel of the Mystery was disclosed : 

Then followed lightnings, seven thunder-tones, 

An earthquake, and a hail of pearly stones. 



INITIATION 429 

The Travail of the Spiritual Birth 

A wondrous sign was in the sky displayed, XII. 1 885 

A winged Woman with the sun arrayed, 

Beneath her feet the moon ; and o'er her head 

Twelve brilliant stars a crown of radiance shed; 

And, big with child, and her delivery nigh, 2 

Unceasingly she raised a doleful cry. 890 

The Serpent of Desire 

Another constellation, vast and weird, 3 

Along the pictured vault of heaven appeared — 

A mighty Dragon, of the hue of flame, 

With seven heads upon his sinuous frame ; 

And ten destructive horns stood out before 895 

The seven gleaming diadems he wore. 

His tail was drawing from the firmament 4 

A third of all the stars, and swiftly sent 

All these adown to earth in glittering rain. 

Before the Woman crying out in pain 900 

And piteously writhing in birth-pangs 

The fiery Dragon stood with waiting fangs, 

Keen to devour her babe. A child she bore, 5 

A beauteous boy, to be the shepherd o'er 

All nations, ruling them with magic rod. 905 

Swiftly the babe was carried up to God 

And to the throne. The Woman fled apace 6 

Far to the desert ; there she has a place 

Most holy, where the Gods to whom she prays 

May nourish her twelve hundred sixty days. 910 

Then dreadful war was in the heavens waged : 7 

The Sun-Lord and the Gods in strife engaged 

The fiery Dragon, whose encircling line 

Of demon-powers touched heaven's highest shrine. 

The Dragon's boasted strength availed him not ; 8 915 

His sign in heaven became a vacant spot : 



430 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

For down to earth the crooked Snake was hurled— 9 

That ancient Dragon who deludes the world— 

And all his host fell with him from on high. 

I heard a voice proclaiming from the sky: 10 920 

"Deliverance now is come, the Power regained, 

The Realm established, and the Self attained : 

For now is the Accuser cast to earth - 

Who doth from birth to death, and death to birth, 

Accuse our brothers with relentless hate 925 

Before our God ; but through their Advocate, 1 1 

The Lamb who shed his blood in their defence, 

And through the trueness of their evidence, 

They now have vanquished that arch-vilifier, 

And scorned the fleeting body of desire. 930 

Therefore rejoice, ye Skies and Heaven-born; 12 

But woe to earth and sea ; for that forsworn 

And dread Accuser, thus from heaven hurled, 

Still prowls unconquered in the mortal world, 

And fiery passions in his bosom burn, 935 

For well he knows how short is his sojourn." 

The Dragon, finding he was cast to earth, 13 

Against the Woman who had given birth 

To that most glorious child turned then his rage, 

Pursuing her, his fury to assuage. 940 

But thereupon the Eagle, Lord of Thought, 14 

To her, the persecuted Mother, brought 

His pair of mighty wings, and them she spread 

And to her desert place of refuge fled, 

And there for three and one-half years remained, 945 

Secure against the Serpent, and sustained 

By Gods who brought their own ambrosial food 

To her in that protected solitude. 

And from his mouth the baffled Serpent poured 1 5 

A venomed stream the fleeing Woman toward, 950 

As 't were a river, that the waters might 

O'ertake her and o'erwhelm her in her flight. 



INITIATION 431 

But Earth came to her rescue : as when drouth 16 

Dries up the waters, so with opened mouth 

Earth, keen to foil the Dragon's fell intent, 955 

Drank up the stream which from his mouth he sent. 

Defeated e'er, the Dragon's fury grew 17 

Against the Woman ; and he now withdrew 

To wage relentless war against the rest 

Of her fair sons, who to the Self attest 960 

And do whate'er the Father may command. 

Beside the sea the Dragon took his stand. XIII. 1 

The Carnal Mind 

And then I saw from out the sea's vast surge 

A seven-headed, ten-horned Beast emerge : 

On every horn a diadem had he, 965 

And on his heads seven names of blasphemy. 

This fierce Sea-monster, with his stealthy glide, 2 

Was like a leopard with his spotted hide ; 

Bearlike he boasted deadly-hugging paws, 

And lionlike could rend with cruel, jaws. 970 

The Dragon gave him power enthroned to reign, 

And great authority o'er men profane. 

I saw that of his seven heads one head 3 

Was wounded, and it seemingly was dead ; 

And yet this head, though slain in deadly strife, 975 

Was healed and energized with lusty life. 

All mortals followed with admiring gaze 

The Beast, and worshipped him with vapid praise. 

The Dragon, too, they worshipped, since 't was he 4 

Who gave the Beast his proud authority, 980 

And his adorability increased. 

Said they : "Who is the equal of the Beast ? 

What mortal has the learning, skill and strength 

To match the Beast in height, or depth, or length ?" 

The Beast was gifted with a mouth that roared 5 985 

Great boastings and foul blasphemies outpoured ; 



432 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

For two and forty months this arrogant 

And vile Sea-monster was allowed to rant. 

His impious mouth he opened to blaspheme 6 

The name and majesty of the Supreme, 990 

The sky where circling planets chant their paean, 

And all the Gods that grace the empyrean. 

The Beast was able, from his monstrous size, 7 

Fell war to wage against the good and wise, 

God's chosen, and by wile and stratagem, 995 

And weight of sheer brute-force, to conquer them. 

And through the grosser faculties of mind 

He ruled the four great castes among mankind : 

And all on earth, whose vision, veiled and dim, 8 

Ne'er pierces heavenly heights, shall worship him, 1000 

Yea, every sinful mortal, wisdom-lorn, 

Whose name, since first the universe was born, 

Has not been written in the living scroll 

Which holds the record of each deathless soul. 

Now bend thine ear and listen well; for know, 9 1005 

The slaver into slavery shall go, . 10 

The slayer expiate his victim's pain 

When by the cruel sword himself is slain ; 

For thus the law of perfect justice weighs 

Each thought and deed of man, and strictly pays, 1010 

From life to life, to every man his due, 

If good his works or evil, false or true. 

Therefore the saints and sages of the earth 

With patience fine accept the woes of birth, 

Trusting the perfect Law whose faultless scales 1015 

Are balanced when the deathless Self prevails. 

The Principle of Superstition 

I saw arise a second Beast untame, 1 1 

As from the earth emerged his hideous frame : 

Two lamblike horns he had, and he could preach 

With priestly cant quite like the Dragon's speech. 1020 



INITIATION 433 

And all the first Wild-beast's authority 12 

He wields when in his presence he may be, 
Compelling all Earth's children to adore 
That seven-headed monster who of yore 

Received his death-blow, but whose wound was healed. 1025 

He makes great signs appear in heaven's field, 13 

That he may even set the earth ablaze 
With heaven's fire, before the rabble's gaze. 
And thus before the Beast he plays his part 14 

With priestly craft and thaumaturgic art, 1030 

And with his miracles and platitudes 
The common herd of men fore'er deludes, 
And bids them make an Image of the Beast 
Whose mortal wound his span of life increased. 
This Beast-like Image he endowed with breath, 15 1035 

Giving it power to speak and deal out death 
To all disdainful mortals who refuse 
To worship it— and pay their temple-dues. 
And all mankind, alike the young and old, 16 

Both rich and poor, both bond and free, are told 1040 

That on their forehead or their dexter hand 
They must be branded with the Beast's red brand, 
And that, in all the marts where men contrive 17 

To gather wealth, or desperately strive 

The threatening wolf of hunger to repel, 1045 

Xo man should trade or barter, buy or sell, 
Unless he wears that ruddy brand of shame, 
The Wild-beast's name, or number of his name. 
Xow, here is an enigma : let the wise 18 

His keenest intuition exercise, 1050 

And count the number of the Beast ; for know, 
It is the number of a man, and so 
His number— such are kabbalistic tricks- 
Is just six hundred and three score and six. 



434 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

IV. THE INITIATION BY THE SUPERNAL FIRE 

The Seven Sun-rayed Gods, and the Bread and Wine of Life 

I saw the Lamb, whose shining feet now trod XIV. i 1055 

The lofty summit of the Mount of God, 

And with him the supernal brotherhood, 

A hundred forty and four thousand, stood, 

And on their foreheads, lettered as with flame, 

His name was written, with his Father's name. 1060 

I heard a sound the heights sethereal sweep 2 

Like rolling billows on the boundless deep, 

Or thunder-peals reverberating long 

When lightning-laden clouds give voice to song : 

Such sound it was as only could be made 1065 

On magic lyres by heavenly minstrels played. 

They chant a paean, never heard of yore, 3 

Before the throne, the Ancients and the Four; 

And none can learn that song, or understand 

Its mystic meaning, save the chosen band — 1070 

The hundred forty and four thousand blest, 

Redeemed from earth at heaven's high behest. . 

These matchless masters of the Sun-Lord's lyre 4 

Are they who shunned the procreative fire, 

And having thus the lovely child-state kept 1075 

In heavenly music they are now adept. 

They are the twelve Companions, multiplied 

By twelve, and by a thousand ; and they glide 

On winged feet, with streaming sunny locks, 

Around the Lamb who leads the starry flocks. 1080 

They are the souls whom purity has freed 

From generative spheres, where mortals breed 

Like animals, the creatures of a day, 

Ever of birth and death the hapless prey. 

First fruits are they whom purity has brought 1085 

To the Eternal Self and Lord of Thought. 



INITIATION 435 

Their every word is verity and sooth, 5 

For they are faultless oracles of Truth. 

I saw a sun-rayed God, the first of those 6 

Who from the sun's fire-pulsing heart arose, 1090 

Soaring in heaven's height ; this God is he 

Who holds in trust Time's garnered mystery, 

Which he reveals to men of well-proved worth 

Who vet remain embodied on the earth, 

And to the four inferior castes forlorn io 95 

By whom the world's most grievous loads are borne. 

With ringing voice he cried : "Regard with awe 7 

The Self Supreme, and keep his perfect law; 

For now is come his judgment's fateful hour. 

Worship the God whose pure creative power 1 100 

Called forth the heavens, the earth's rock- founded frame, 

The billowy sea, and founts of liquid flame." 

A sun-rayed God, the second, following, 8 

With cry exultant made the sky-vault ring : 

"She fell ! The mighty Haunted City fell ! 1 105 

The scarlet wanton, she who did compel 

All mortals dwelling on earth's verdured crust 

To drink the wine of her impetuous lust." 

A sun-rayed God, the third, came next, and loud 9 

His voice he lifted as he thus avowed : 1 1 10 

"If any mortal still the Beast adores, 

Or falls, as if sub-human, on all fours 

Before its Image, or receives the brand 

Of crimson on his brow or on his hand, 

He, too, poor fatuous wretch, shall drink his fill 10 1115 

Of fiery wine — the life-creative will 

Which ever agitates the brute World-soul 

In the abysmal cosmic mixing-bowl ; 

And he by pain and sorrow shall be tried, 

As though by burning sulphur purified, 1 120 

In sight of all the Gods, and in the sight 

Of his own deathless Self in heaven's height. 



436 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

For through the ages it was ever thus 1 1 

With mortals ignorant and credulous, 

Who, unenlightened, with the Beast-mind plod, 1125 

Adoring its crude Image as their God, 

And wearing that Beast-mark, for men unfit, 

That stamps the simpleton or hypocrite : 

Like smoke through which the sunlight can not shine, 

Their mental fog shuts out the Thought Divine, 1130 

And clay and night their blindly groping quest 

Leads not to mental peace or heavenly rest. 

Not thus it is with men serenely wise, 12 

Who heed the deathless Self, and justly prize 

The sacred learning that is only taught 1135 

When Truth Supreme is in the Silence sought." 

I heard a voice from heaven saying: " Write, 13 

Immortal are 'the dead' who in the bright 

Irradiance of the Sun-God henceforth die." 

"Yea," quoth the storied iEther in reply, 1 140 

"That they may thus their earthly toil conclude, 

Though still by fate-evolving works pursued." 

I then beheld the Sun-God, Lord of Light, 14 

Enthroned upon a cloud of purest white ; 

His head was crowned with golden-colored rays, 1 145 

Dazzling the sky with their effulgent blaze, 

And in his hand extended he displayed 

A reaping-hook with keen-edged crescent blade. 

A sun-rayed God came forth, the shining one 15 

Who rules the inner temple of the sun, 1150 

And loudly to the cloud-throned God he cried : 

"Let now your keen-edged sickle be applied ; 

The hour to reap has come : Earth's golden grain ' 

Waits ripe and dry upon the sacred plain." 

The God stretched forth his silvery reaping-hook 16 1155 

And from the earth its ripened harvest took. 

The sun-rayed Gods bestowed this gift on man — 

The bread of life. For with the sacred fan 



INITIATION 437 

The grain was winnowed, and with millstones brayed 

To precious flour from which life's bread is made. 1160 

A sun-rayed God came forth, the Regent high 17 

Who rules the inner temple of the sky : 

He also held a hook wherewith to glean, 

Which like a scimitar was curved and keen. 

A sun-rayed God forth from the altar came — 18 1 165 

The Regent of its quenchless triple flame — 

And with a silvery accent thus he bade 

Him who the brightly gleaming sickle had : 

"Stretch forth your blade, and from earth's fruitful vine 

Gather the clustering grapes that shower and shine 1 170 

Have fully ripened, ready to be trod 

In the empurpled wine-vat of the God." 

The Wine-God o'er the earth his sickle played, 19 

Stripping earth's sacred vineyard with his blade, 

And threw the gathered store of luscious fruit 1 175 

Into the wine-vat where the Gods transmute 

The wine of life, when from the fruit expressed, 

To holy ichor of the heaven-blest. 

Outside the city walls the vat, replete 20 

With fruitage fine, was trodden by their feet, 1180 

And from the wine-vat flowed beneath their tread 

^Ethereal blood, the ichor, and it spread, 

In life-bestowing streams of golden hue, 

Full sixteen hundred furlongs, even to 

The bridles of the four great steeds that run 1185 

Before the splendid chariot of the sun. 

V. THE INITIATION BY THE SUPERNAL EARTH 

The Seven Gods Pour Lustrations on the Earth, and Her 
Immortal Son is Born 

Then saw I in the sky a wondrous sign, XV. 1 

The seven Gods enrobed in starry shine 



438 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Who, peerless ones of all the Gods, control 

The seven retributions of the soul — 1 190 

The final throes of purifying pain 

The dauntless heaven-conqueror must sustain. 

I saw the aether of the cloudless height 2 

Where dwell the blessed Gods in pristine Light : 

'T was like a sea of flowing crystal veined 1 195 

With golden fire. They who had victory gained 

Over the Beast, his Image, and the thrall 

Of thoughts that on the earth can only crawl, 

Were standing on that sea, no more compelled 

To grope on earth ignobly, but upheld 1200 

By shining aether and by solar fires 

In wisdom's highest heaven. Sweet-toned lyres 

Had they, such as the lyre the Radiant Youth, 

The God of Art and Oracle of Truth, 

Touches with tuneful fingers ; and a paean 3 1205 

They sang, victorious in the empyrean, 

To him, the Sun-God who had safely led 

Their weary feet through life's red waters — red 

With burning passions. Him they also praised, 

The holy Lamb who them to heaven raised — 12 10 

The leader of the countless starry throng 

In heaven's field aethereal. This their song : 4 

"O Master-God, acclaimed by heavenlv choirs 

All-Dominator of the solar fires, 

Thy works transcendent thou dost intersperse 121 5 

Among the spheres that fill the universe. 

And thou, bright Leader of the Shining Powers, 

Whom the unbounded azure sky embowers, 

Dost thy serene and open pathways trace 

Through starry pastures in aethereal space. 1220 

O Regent of the holy triple flame, 

Who shall not hold in awe thy mystic name ? 

For thou, of all the deathless Gods, alone 

Canst now to man the saving truth make known ; 



INITIATION 439 

And therefore all mankind shall worship thee, 1225 

For thou dost judge, and set the worthy free." 

Again I looked : now opened was the fane 5 

Within the temple where the Seers obtain 

The wisdom older than the dawn of time; 

And from the fane the seven Gods sublime 6 1230 

Who hold the seven retributions came, 

Their raiment glittering with a starry flame 

As from the facets of a diamond thrown, 

And girt about the breasts with golden zone. 

One of the mighty Four, the sacred Bull, 7 1235 

Brought seven golden pateras, all full 

Of the regenerative force divine 

The Gods had gained when the enchanted wine 

Flowed from the wine- vat of the beauteous God, 

The Youth etern, who bears the cone-tipped rod; 1240 

And to his septenate the Taurine one 

Gave these libation-bowls. As when the sun 8 

By clouds is hidden, so the fane became 

Darkened by smoke from the ensphering flame 

Around the sceptred God, and from the Force 1245 

Now rising radiant to its primal source ; 

And none had power to enter or descry 

That fane where dwells the Ruler of the Sky, 

Until the seven Gods should have fulfilled 

The seven retributions he had willed. 1250 

And from the fane, now veiled in curling smoke, XVI. 1 

His voice melodious and vibrant spoke, 

Commanding thus the seven Gods : "Now take 

The seven golden pateras and make 

Libation, pouring out upon the earth 1255 

The sacred forces of the solar birth." 

The first God went, and his libation poured 2 

Upon the earth. To mortals who adored 

The Image of the Beast and bore his brand 

'T was given through pain and grief to understand 1260 



440 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

That earth has now become, through sin's red curse, 

A grievous ulcer on the universe. 

The second God then emptied on the sea 3 

His golden bowl. Its waters, rolling free, 

Turned into clotted blood, such as remains 1265 

Within a dead man's cold and pulseless veins ; 

And all the creatures dwelling in the tide 

Of that great psychic sea of sorrow died. 

The third God poured upon the lesser flood 4 

Of founts and streams his bowl; and into blood 1270 

The waters changed. The Regent holding sway 5 

Over the seething waters I heard say : 

"O righteous Lord of Destiny who hast 

Evolved the present from the fateful past, 

Justly hast thou applied thy chastening rod 1275 

To them who worshipped as the one true God 

The Wild-beast's Image, deaf, inert and blind — 

The cosmic shadow of man's mortal mind. 

For they, accursed by superstitious fears, 6 

Poured out the blood of sages, saints and seers ; 1280 

And now in anguish they perforce have quaffed 

Retributory blood in plenteous draught.''" 

In lofty praise the God of Fire concurred, 7 

And from the altar-flame his voice I heard 

Thus saying: "Yea, O mighty Power august, 12 &5 

Thy judgments are infallible and just." 

The fourth God then his golden bowl outpoured 8 

Upon the sun : the blazing forces stored 

Within its throbbing heart were freed, and men 9 

Were tortured by the scorching heat, as when 1290 

By burning and incessant thought the mind 

To madness is tormented. They maligned 

The God who sends these retributions ; still 

They did not turn to do his holy will. 

The fifth God then poured out his bowl to whelm 10 1295 

The Wild-beast's throne ; and darkened was his realm. 



INITIATION 441 

His subjects writhed with agony, and cursed 1 1 

The Regent of the Sky because their thirst 

For life had brought them but disease and pain ; 

But they from wicked deeds did not refrain. 1300 

The sixth, the God the Sun-powers glorify, 12 

Poured out upon the River of the Sky 

His golden bowl. The stream was dried, and showed 

An empty channel, making thus a road 

Whereon might journey those gift-bearing kings 1305 

Who come from whence the radiant sun upsprings. 

Then from the three wide-gaping mouths unpurged, 13 

The Dragon's, Beast's, and Pseudo-seer's, emerged 

Three filthy spirits, like the croaking frogs 

That make their home in the miasmal bogs „ 13 10 

That mire the feet of men and load the air 

With noxious vapors, even as the snare 

Of wily priestcraft captures the profane, 

And as its misty doctrines fog the brain. 

These spirits three are like the soulless wraiths 14 131 5 

Of dead religions and decaying faiths, 

Still croaking dismal doctrines void of sense, 

And working signs and wonders — in pretence : 

They prowled o'er all the world, both near and far, 

To band together all its kings for war 1320 

On that f ast-nearing day when gloriously 

The Self shall make his advent. (Whispers he : 15 

"With stealthy pace my advent I shall make ; 

Bless-ed is he who watches, wide-awake 
i 

And fully clothed, lest taken unaware x 3 2 5 

He find himself in utter shame laid bare.") 

And these in serried phalanx they arrayed 16 

In Rhea's realm — great Goddess renegade ! 

The seventh God upon the air poured out 1 7 

His golden patera. A mighty shout 1 33° 

Came from the throned God whose aura flamed 

Within the fane, and thus his voice proclaimed : 



442 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

"Lo, he is born ! The Conqueror has won 

The deathless form more radiant than the sun." 

Glad lightnings gleamed, and with exultant voice 18 1335 

The seven Thunders bade the world rejoice; 

And at the cry our beauteous mother Earth 

Was shaken by tremendous throes of birth : 

Ne'er since the many-breasted Mother first 

Brought forth the mortal children she has nursed 1 340 

Was she by such stupendous earthquake torn 

As when that strong immortal son was born. 

The City of the Mortals yet remained; 19 

Three of its four divisions it retained, 

But all the dwellings of the common herd 1345 

Were in a seismic chasm now sepulchred : 

The mighty Haunted. City, held in mind 

By the Eternal Self, was now assigned 

The wine-cup filled o'erbrimming at the source 

Of his creative — and destructive — force. I 35° 

All islands, loosened, drifted on the main, 20 

And mountains all were levelled to the plain. 

Hail from the sky, each stone a hundredweight, 21 

Pelted the earth perverse and reprobate, 

As when man's conscience from its realm occult 1355 

Hurls at his soul, as from a catapult, 

Its truthful accusations. Men blasphemed 

The Power from whence these retributions streamed ; 

For memories like a pelting hailstorm bruised 

Their souls thus mercilessly self -accused. 1360 

The Great Illusion 

One of the seven Gods who poured the dread XVII. 1 

Drink-offerings then came to me and said : 

"Come hither, and behold the judgment just 

Of that foul wanton with insatiate lust 

Who sits enthroned, the queen of revelry, 1365 

Upon the many waters of the sea. 



INITIATION 443 

With her the kings of earth have sinned ; and all 2 

The dwellers on the earth are in the thrall 

Of her unclean delusions, and are drunk 

"With frenzy, and in filthy orgies sunk." 1370 

In sacred trance he carried me away 3 

Into the desert on whose marge the spray 

Sullenly dashes from the sombre sea ; 

The wanton Goddess there I saw, and she 

Was seated on the scarlet-colored Beast, 1375 

Ten-horned and seven-headed, as the priest 

WTiose impious rantings all mankind persuade 

To worship Lust. The Goddess was arrayed 4 

In royal purple and bright scarlet, hemmed 

With wiry gold, and dazzlingly begemmed. I 38o 

A golden wine-cup, filled with nauseous things — 

Her wicked worshippers' vile offerings — 

She held to view, exulting in her shame ; 

And on her forehead there was writ a name : 5 

"A Mystery: The Haunted City— queen 1385 

And 'Mighty Mother,' whom with rites obscene 

The temple-women worship, and who fills 

The earth with misery and myriad ills." 

I saw the Goddess drunken with the fumes 6 

Of blood poured out at human hecatombs I 39° 

By brutal priests who, lost to love and ruth, 

Slaughter the Seers and witnesses of truth. 

I gazed at her with horror and amaze, 

And said to me the God : "Why do you gaze 7 

With wonder at the Goddess ? Unto you 1395 

I shall reveal the mystery of these two, 

The Goddess and the Dragon she bestrides — 

The seven-headed, ten-horned Beast she rides. 

The Beast is but a glamour of the past ; 8 

He 's non-existent, and with shadows classed : 1400 

And soon from Lust's abysmal realm of woe 

He shall come up, and to destruction go. 



444 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

The mortals impotent to rise above 

The sense-perceptions they so fondly love — 

Whose names the Self Eternal has not traced 1405 

Upon his book of life since first was placed 

On its foundations the vast universe — 

Shall wonder at the Beast, and oft rehearse 

This puzzling question, While his past is clear, 

If non-existent now, how comes he here ? 141 o 

Turn from the lower mind that nothing knows 9 

To the eternal mind whence wisdom flows : 

Cease with the senses limpingly to plod, 

And tread on aether like the winged God. 

Hear, now, the mystery : the seven heads, I 4 I 5 

With which the Beast o'er seven earth-lives spreads, 

Are seven mountains, each of them a throne 

On which the Goddess sits and rules alone. 

Now, there are seven kings, to whom by right 10 

The thrones belong, and who undaunted fight 1420 

Against the Goddess ; and of these the five 

Are fallen, while the sixth is now alive ; 

And when the seventh, yet unborn, appears, 

He shall continue but a few short years. 

The Beast— the Present by the Past enthralled — 1 1 1425 

Though non-existent, is by mystics called 

The eighth, the shadow of the seven kings, 

And him the Future to destruction brings. 

His ten great horns are also kings, to whom 1 2 

No realm has yet been given, but who assume 1430 

The Beast's authority, and wield his power, 

Each reigning with him for but one short hour. 

They have, united in a single mind, 13 

Their right and power to the Beast assigned ; 

And they shall join their forces with the foe 14 1435 

Whom the all-conquering Lamb shall overthrow : 

For he is King of kings, exalted high 

Above the very Gods ; and each ally, 



INITIATION 445 

Whate'er his rank, who may the Lamb sustain 

With him shall conquer, and with him shall reign. 1440 

Now, as to that wave-swept, tear-salted sea 15 

Where reigns the Goddess swaying drunkenly : 

Its many waters are the souls combined 

To form the total of profane mankind, 

Souls immature, who scorn fair Wisdom's gift, *445 

And on the tide of life supinely drift, 

Ruled by the baser forces of desire — 

The Beast with his ten horns of ruddy fire. 16 

But these shall yet the wanton Goddess hate, 

Rebel against her, and make desolate 1450 

The mural-crowned Queen, and her shall strip 

Of all her robes of dainty workmanship ; 

Herself they shall consume as on a pyre, 

Burning her body with their subtile fire. 

For the Eternal Self their hearts imbued 17 145 5 

With his design for the infinitude, 

That they should be of one accord, and give 

Their kingdom to the Wild-beast primitive 

Till man, instructed in the sacred lore, 

Shall wisdom gain, and Time shall be no more. 1460 

The mural-crowned Goddess, who with crime 18 

And sin is crimsoned, is the Bride of Time : 

'Great City of Illusion' she is styled 

By those no longer by her charms beguiled, 

And on the earth, to its remotest bounds, 1465 

All humankind her blood-stained realm surrounds." 

The Rejoicing over the Fall of the City of Illusion 

These mystery-teachings drawing to an end, XVIII. 1 

I saw a second God from heaven descend, 

The Warrior-God whom valiant heroes praise, 

And whose red glory sets the world ablaze. 1470 

His voice rang out in triumph, like the shout 2 

Of phalanxed hosts who put the foe to rout : 



446 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

"She fell ! The mighty Haunted City fell ; 

And now within her crumbling ruins dwell 

Dread ghouls and all the evil spirits gray, 1475 

And every foul and loathsome bird of prey. 

For all mankind her wine of lust have drunk, 3 

And now in senseless orgies they are sunk ; 

The kings of earth she plunged in lustful mire; 

Its merchants prosper through her foul desire." 1480 

A third voice cried from the supernal Air : 4 

"Come forth, my people, out of her, nor share 

Her crimson sins ; else share without demur 

The retribution meted out to her. 

Her sins, heaped up in many ages past, 5 1485 

As high as heaven's azure dome are massed ; 

And every evil deed, or small or great, 

Is written in the faultless book of Fate. 

Repay her, e'en as she herself repaid, 6 

With double measure, as her deeds are weighed : 1490 

When she her cup of pleasure's wine would drain 

Add equal measure of the wine of pain ; 

And turn her self-conceit and joyance brief 7 

To self-analysis and lasting grief. 

For thus she boasts, in her unspoken thought : 1495 

'I sit enthroned a queen, and I am not 

Dead Time's unworthy widow ; pain and woe 

Are things my happy heart shall never know.' 

Her, therefore, Retribution shall repay 8 

With hunger, grief and death in one short day, 1500 

And she by funeral fire shall be consumed, 

By that resistless Power now justly doomed. 

The mortals who are deemed the kings of earth — 9 

Though slaves to her voluptuous charms and mirth — 

From her shall flee ; and sadly looking back ^OS 

Upon the smoke uprolling dense and black 

From her dread pyre, and standing far away 10 

For fear of her cremation, thev shall sav : 



INITIATION 447 

'Alas, thou Haunted City, strong and great ! 

For thus in one brief hour has come thy fate.' 1510 

Earth's merchants, fleeing from the city's bourn, 1 1 

O'er her shall shed fast-falling tears and mourn, 
For no one now shall purchase at their hands 
Their costly cargoes brought from many lands : 
Their stock of varied gold and silver ware, 12 1 5 1 5 

Or things for use or ornaments with rare 
And precious stones and pearls of goodly size; 
Fine linen, silk, cloths hued with richest dyes ; 
Vessels of iron, bronze and marble made, 

Of rarest wood and ivory inlaid; 1520 

All thuja-wood; and every condiment, 13 

Unguent and incense from the Orient ; 
Wine, oil, fine wheaten flour and golden grain ; 
Sheep, cattle ; horses, patient beasts that strain 
To draw great wagons with neck-chafing poles, 1525 

And human bodies — yea, and human souls! 
(Now is the fruitage of thy soul's desire 4:4 

To ashes turned by crematory fire ; 
From thee all bright and brilliant charms have fled : 
None finds them in the ashes of the dead.) 1530 

The merchants bringing these commodities 15 

In hollow ships from lands beyond the seas, 
Who by their traffic with the scarlet witch 
Grew poor in morals but in money rich, 

Shall stand far off through fear of that red blaze, 1535 

And shedding tears shall thus their sad cry raise: 16 

'Alas, the wealthy city, beautified 
By gorgeous robes with royal colors dyed 
And all with jewels, pearls and gold inwrought! 
In one brief hour such wealth has come to naught/ ij 1540 

^ The captains and the sailors, all who gain 
Wages by toiling on the stormy main, 
Far off shail stand and shall bemoan the doom 
Of her whom now the smoke-veiled flames consume, 



448 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

And they shall say : What city can compare 18 1545 

With her, the city gem-adorned and fair ?' 

And humbled to the dust, with streaming eyes, 19 

They shall exclaim, between their mournful cries : 

'Alas, the opulent city by the sea, 

Whose bounteous hand poured riches lavishly 1550 

On all ship-owners bringing costly freight ! 

For in one hour is she made desolate/ 20 

Rejoice o'er her, thou all-beholding Sky, 

Ye sages, saints and seers ; for God on high 

Has paid the scarlet Wanton, as her due, I 555 

The fiery death that she dealt out to you." 

A God, among the Gods for strength renowned, 21 

The mighty millstone grasped by which are ground 

The destinies of men, and it he hurled 

Far out to sea, and cried unto the world : 1 S^>o 

"By such a feat of strength shall be o'erthrown 

The Haunted City which the Gods disown, 

And like the stone that to the waves was tossed 

Shall she pass on and evermore be lost. 

O Haunted City, ne'er again in thee 22 1565 

Shall sound of cithern or of minstrelsy, 

The mellow notes of flutists, or the blare 

Of trumpeters rejoice the vibrant air; 

No more in thee shall sturdy craftsmen toil, 

Or weary women at the millstone moil ; • 1570 

In thee no lamp shall give its lambent light, 23 

And nevermore shall mystic marriage-rite 

Thy temple gladden, when the virgin bride 

Is given to the bridegroom sanctified. 

For thy ignoble merchants ruled the earth, 1575 

While sordid lucre banished all true worth, 

And brutal priests in maudlin faiths combined 

To throw a sorcerer's spell o'er all mankind. 

In her, the Haunted City, when she fell, 24 

There oozed, as from a crimson-flowing well, 15^° 



INITIATION 



449 



The blood of saints, philosophers and seers — 

All such as Wisdom loves and Falsehood fears - 

For earth was sodden to its meanest clod 

With blood of martyrs slain for Priestcraft's God. 

Thus did the Gods denounce that scarlet Queen ; 

And then a countless throng in heaven serene, 

The starry choir who move in cosmic dance, 

Sang : "Hail, the Victor ! The deliverance, 

The glory and the power are his who reigns 

Supreme o'er all, and by his will maintains 

Eternal truth and justice. Sentence just 

He has pronounced upon the Queen of Lust, 

The wanton Goddess who with wiles obscene 

Seduced the earth to thoughts and deeds unclean ; 

And, adding to the penalty she paid, 

The blood of all his martyred saints he weighed." 

In antiphon the hosts of earth replied, 

For thus the conquerors, the purified, 

Sang : "Hail, the Victor ! Through the aeons rise 

Dense clouds of smoke where that foul city lies ; 

For now to conflagration justly doomed 

She by avenging flames shall be consumed." 

The twice-twelve Ancients and the sacred Four 

Bowed down in lowly posture to adore 

The Self Eternal and his praise intone : 

"Om. Hail, the Victor!" From the golden throne 

Rang out the voice of God's chief glorifier, 

The sun-rayed leader of the cosmic choir : 

"Praise ye our God, all ye his devotees, 

Both young and old, who honor his decrees." 

As when the deep, stirred to the uttermost, 

Hurls roaring breakers on a rock-bound coast, 

Or echoed thunders, pealing far and near, 

With mighty music flood the atmosphere, 

So pealed sublimely that great choral song 

As all the numberless exultant throng 



XIX. i 1585 



I590 



1595 



1600 



1605 



1610 



1615 



450 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Sang : "Hail, the Victor ! For the Lord of Light 

Now reigns supreme with universal might. 

Let joy ecstatic every soul enthrall, 7 

And let us glorify the Self of All : 1620 

For now with mystic rites is ratified 

The marriage of the Lamb. His virgin bride 

Waits, veiled in vesture lustrous, pearly-pure, 8 

A wondrous fabric woven by her wooer 

With warp and woof of loving deed and thought; 1625 

And in its texture, intimately wrought, 

Are all the great and little things of worth 

Achieved by him in myriad lives on earth." 

The radiant Chorus-leader said to me : 9 

"Write: Blessed are the holy company 1630 

Rejoicing with the Lamb, for whom is spread 

The marriage- feast." Again to me he said : 

"These secret teachings unto you made known 

Are truths divine." Before him I fell prone, 10 

To worship him. Said he : "Thus do not do; 1635 

I am but fellow-servitor with you 

And with your brothers in the sacred lore, 

Who follow Wisdom. God alone adore. 

For know, the witness to which Seers appeal 

None save the Breath supernal can reveal." 1640 

VI. THE FINAL CONQUEST, AND THE REIGN OF 
ETERNAL JUSTICE 

The Conquerdr, the Solar Self 

The portal of the sky swung open : lo, 11 

Rode forth upon a horse pure-white as snow 

The Conqueror — the Witness of the True, 

The Judge infallible, the Warrior who 

Knows not defeat or failure, and the Seer 12 1645 

Whose starry eyes see all things far and near. 



INITIATION 451 

Upon his brow, where banded jewels shone, 

Was writ a name known to himself alone. 

His robes, blood-cleansed, are all qf_ aether wrought, 13 

And he is called " Divine Creative Thought." 1650 

The warriors in the sky, of wondrous deeds, 14 

All rode behind him on their milk-white steeds, 

Arrayed in finest linen, pure and white. 

His mouth outbreathes a sword of flame, to smite 15 

The miscreants who abuse the power which God' 1655 

Has given man : to them his golden rod 

Shall be as iron, dealing deadly blows. 

'T is he who treads the wine-vat whence outflows 

The force that fashions in supernal mould 

The deathless solar form of living gold; 1660 

And on his mantle, on the Scorpion-zone, 16 

This legend, writ in flaming letters, shone : 

"He who was man, of mortal parents sprung, 

Is now reborn the deathless Gods among; 

Greater than they, more glorious than the sun, 1665 

Is this self-conqueror, this mighty one !" 

The Hall of Time, and the Banquet on the Slain Remnants 
of the Past 

I saw a God, my serpent-sceptred Guide, 17 

Now standing in the sun. He loudly cried 

To all the birds that in the mid-heaven fly 

Seeking intently carrion to descry : 1670 

"The Hall of Time is filled with offerings ; 

His banquet waits : devour the flesh of kings, 18 

The flesh of generals, of warriors brave, 

Riders and steeds, and all men free and slave, 

Both young and old; a generous feast is spread. 1675 

Flock to the banquet, and devour the dead." 

I saw the Beast and earth's deluded kings, 19 

With their embattled hosts of underlings, 



452 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Assembled all to wage relentless war 

Against the army of the Conqueror. 1680 

The Beast was captured, with the Pseudo-seer 20 

Who in his presence made false signs appear, 

With which the credulous mortals he deceived 

Who had the Beast's red brand of shame received, 

And who adored his Image. And these two 1685 

Into the sulphurous lake of fire they threw, 

Where they, alive, in burning sulphur seethed. 

And by the magic sword by him outbreathed 21 

Who rode the milk-white steed the rest were killed ; 

And with their flesh the prey-birds all were filled. 1690 

Zeus Chains the Evil Serpent and Hurls Him into the 
Tartarean Abyss 

I saw descending where the sky-vault slopes XX. 1 

The God who holds the key that shuts and opes 

The dread abyss, Apollyon's domain ; 

And in his hand he held a massive chain. 

He seized the Dragon — that old Serpent-God, 2 1695 

Who slanders him who bears the serpent-rod, 

Aping his sacred rites with rites uncouth, 

And who is e'er the enemy of truth — 

And having for a thousand years bound fast 

The foul and furious monster, him he cast 3 1700 

Down into the abyss, and locked and sealed 

Its gate above him, that he should not wield 

His baneful powers and thus delude mankind 

Until the term for which he was confined, 

The thousand years, should end ; and then indeed I 7°5 

The arch-deluder must awhile be freed. 

The Temporary Bliss of the Disincarnated Soul 

Then saw I thrones innumerable, one 4 

For each earth-life whose course the soul had run : 



INITIATION 453 

The disembodied soul, or pure or base, 

Its righteous Judge, the throned Self, must face. 1710 

I saw the souls of them who had been slain 

Because, despite the priests, they dared maintain 

Man's rightful Godhood and the sacred lore, 

Also the souls who would not bow before 

The Wild-beast and his Image, nor allow 1 7 1 S 

His crimson brand upon their hand or brow. 

These wise and valiant souls to life returned 

And with the Self a thousand years sojourned; 

But all the souls of the ignoble herd, 5 

Who had the false before the true preferred, 1720 

Continued dormant in the psychic spheres 

Throughout the period of a thousand years. 

This is the first awakening from the dead 

Of souls that e'er the path of wisdom tread. 

Eternal bliss is his whose part is sure 6 I7 2 5 

In this first resurrection : for the pure, 

Restored to life by the supernal Breath, 

No more are menaced by the second death, 

But, sharing the One Life and lore arcane, 

They with the Self the thousand years shall reign. !730 

And when the thousand years have duly ceased, 7 

The Serpent, from his prison then released, 

Shall issue forth, the nations to delude 8 

Which the four quarters of the earth include, 

To muster them for final deadly strife I 735 

Against the all-victorious Lord of Life. 

As sea-sand countless, those dark forces sped ; 9 

Their battle-line o'er all the wide earth spread, 

And thus outflanked and hemmed on every side 

The lesser army of the purified, 1740 

Surrounding utterly with fearful odds 

The sacred city cherished by the Gods. 

Then on that evil host the Gods rained fire, 

Consuming them as on a blazing pyre. 



454 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

The dark Deluder, the archaic Snake, 10 1745 

Was banished to the dread fire-flaming lake, 
To join the Wild-beast and the Pseudo-seer, 
Punished for aeons in that dismal sphere. 

The Final Judgment, and Complete Purification 

Then in prophetic vision I was shown 1 1 

The Self Eternal on his great white throne : I 75° 

And earth and sky, fleeing before his face, 

Vanished in the immensity of space. 

I saw the dead, alike the young and old, 12 

Standing before the throne, with scrolls unrolled, 

Their books of life, wherein the Self might read 1755 

The record of their every thought and deed. 

The Lamb's great Book of Life was opened : vast 

Was there the record of his age-long past. 

And by this record of each deed and thought 

The dead, arisen, were to judgment brought. 1760 

Then from its murky depths the moaning sea 13 

Gave up its dead ; earth set her captives free, 

And from the dismal realm of Plouton fled 

The wailing shades of the unworthy dead; 

And each received, according to his deeds, I 7^ > 5 

The weal or woe that every action breeds. 

The world of death and realm of torment dire 14 

Were thrown into the flaming lake of fire : 

This is the second death, the lake of flame; 

If one were found unworthy, and his name 15 1770 

Appeared not in the Life-book of the world, 

He into that fire-flaming lake was hurled. 

VII. THE MYSTIC CITY, THE SOLAR BODY 

The Conqueror Inherits the Spiritual Universe 

The sky I now beheld was new, and new XXI. 1 

The radiant earth that now was spread to view. 



INITIATION 455 

The olden sky and earth had passed away, 1775 

And the vast sea had disappeared for aye. 

The new-built city (the divine abode 2 

Upon the white-robed Conqueror bestowed) 

Came down from heaven, like a beauteous bride 

Adorned to meet the bridegroom eager-eyed. 1780 

Then from the throne a voice of thunder said : 3 

"Behold, o'er all humanity is spread 

The wondrous temple of the Self Divine; 

And he, the God of All, shall have his shrine 

Within the hearts of men, and they shall be 1785 

True Sons of God, from sin and sorrow free : 

Clear-eyed, serene and free from death are they 4 

When all gross elements have passed away." 

And unto me he said : "Lo, with a new 5 

And nobler scheme of worlds I now bestrew 1790 

Eternal Space." Again he said : "Now write, 

These Mystery-teachings, holy, recondite, 

Are credible and true." And yet again 6 

He said to me : "Among the sons of men 

One more, reborn, is vestured with the sun; T 795 

But I, who am the Seven Sounds in One, 

Unborn, undying, am the living source 

Whence all proceed upon their cyclic course ; 

And all the souls that sacred wisdom quest 

To me return and in my bosom rest. 1800 

To him who thirsts for wisdom, and would live 

Among the blest Immortals, I shall give 

Water of Life from my exhaustless fount ; 

And he, the Conqueror, who shall surmount 7 

The barrier of desire, earth's primal curse, 1805 

Shall win this new and wondrous universe ; 

And I shall be his God, and he shall be 

My Son, who shares its jewelled throne with me. 

But dastards, hating Wisdom's way, who shirk 8 

Life's nobler duties and the sacred work, 1810 



456 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

They who are moral stenches, murderers, 

They whom no sense of shame from lust deters, 

Dealers in magic arts and phallic rites, 

Idolaters, and all the worthless wights 

Who love untruth and speak with lying breath, 1815 

Their fate shall suffer in the second death— 

The burning sulphurous lake where disappears 

The refuse of the generative spheres." 

Hermes Reveals the Mysteries of the Sacred City 

Then came to me the gracious God who wears 9 

Winged sandals, and the golden sceptre bears 1820 

With serpents twined; the sixth was he of those 

Who erst poured out the seven final woes. 

He said to me : "Come hither ; I, your guide, 

Shall show you now the Lamb's resplendent Bride." 

And to the lofty mountain which is zoned 10 1825 

By twelve great peaks whereon the Gods are throned 

He bore me through the aether, and there showed 

To me the City, the divine abode, 

Descending from the pure aethereal height, 

Wrapped in the Self's bright glory as her light, 1 1 1830 

A sphere of opalescence, crystal-clear : 

This is the city's wall, the shining sphere, 12 

Having twelve portals and a mighty guard 

Of twelve great Gods who there keep watch and ward. 

And o'er these portals, where the light outshines, 1835 

Are writ the names of twelve celestial signs : 

Three portals faced the east, and thus the rest 13 

In triads faced the north, the south, the west. 

The wall had twelve foundations, firmly placed 14 

On twelve great segments in the aether traced, 1840 

And on them names were written to record 

The twelve Companions of the Solar Lord, 

My loved hierophant, the Herald-God, 15 

Using his sceptre for a measuring-rod, 



INITIATION 457 

Measured the city, and its gates and wall. 1845 

The city is extended foursquare; all 16 

Its three dimensions, length, and breadth, and height, 
Are equal : with his golden sceptre bright 
He measured them in furlongs maximum, 

Twelve thousand furlongs, but in miles the sum 1850 

Would be one thousand and six hundred ; next 17 

The wall he measured, and my mind perplexed 
By adding to the sum the Man Divine- 
Cubits one hundred forty- four, in fine. 

The city's wall was its transparent sphere, 18 1855 

Like opal, many-colored, bright and clear ; 
And all the city was a shining mass 
Of purest gold, transparent, as 't were glass. 
The wall's foundations were adorned with gems 19 

Of divers hues, like regal diadems : i860 

The first was opal, showing every hue ; 
The second, lapis-lazuli, rich blue ; 
The third, chalcedony, of blue-gray sheen; 
The fourth was emerald, of bluish-green ; 

The fifth, sardonyx, white with red o'erspread; 20 1865 

The sixth, carnelian, of a clear, bright red ; 
The seventh, chrysolite, of golden tint ; 
The eighth was beryl, of a yellow glint ; 
The ninth was topaz, like the sun's gold rays ; 

The tenth was greenish-golden chrysoprase ; 1870 

Of sapphire the eleventh, azure blue ; 
The twelfth was amethyst, of violet hue. 
Its portals twelve of lustrous pearls were made— 21 

Each of a single pearl. A street was laid 

Lengthways the city, and this noble street— 1875 

A sacred highway whereupon no feet 
Save those of gift-bestowing kings might pass— 
Was paved with gold, transparent like clear glass. 
Nowhere in all the city did I see 22 

A fane where worshippers might bow the knee: 1880 



458 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

The Self Supreme to whom all powers pertain 

And the divine Star-shepherd are its fane. 

The city had no need of sun or moon 23 

Bestowing, as on earth, their measured boon : 

For the ensphering glory of its wall 1885 

With ceaseless light illuminated all, 

And in its midst the Lamb's effulgent throne, 

As 't were a brilliant lamp, irradiant shone ; 

And by the light these luminaries shed 24 

The four great castes their peaceful pathways tread; 1890 

While into it the kings of earth shall bring 

Their fourfold glory as an offering. 

Its portals never shall be closed by day, 25 

And night shall nevermore have dusky sway. 

And there the kings who rule the orient 26 1895 

Shall bring the glory and rich offerings sent 

By subjects of their four great realms defined 

By these distinctive castes among mankind. 

No impious outcast e'er shall enter in, 27 

Or any foul mendacious slave of sin, 1900 

But only they, exempt from sin and strife, 

Whose names are in the Self's great scroll of life. 

To me the God-hierophant then showed XXII. 1 

A silvery river-channel, wherein flowed 

Water of life, a flashing crystal stream • 1905 

Out welling from the throne of the Supreme 

And of the Lamb, and coursing pure and sweet 

Along the middle of the golden street. 2 

And on the river's near and further shore 

Towered the twofold tree of life, which bore 1910 

Twelve kinds of fruit, each month a different fruit; 

The ruling Gods gave each its attribute ; 

And on its leaves, in writing, were outlined 

The sacred doctrines that can save mankind. 

The power generant, earth's primal curse, 3 191 5 

Shall have no place in that new universe : 



INITIATION 459 

The throne of the Supreme and of the sweet 

And lovely Shepherd with the winged feet 

Shall.be the centre of that radiant sphere, 

Where devotees the Self of All revere. 1920 

And face to face his glory they shall see, 4 

While on their brow his name shines dazzlingly. 

O'er them, his worshippers, the shades of night 5 

Shall never fall ; and they shall need no light 

Of lamp or sun, for they in truth shall gain I 9 2 5 

The light eternal, and fore'er shall reign. 

He said to me : "Believable and true 6 

Are these most holy Mysteries taught to you : 

The Self Supreme, from the sethereal spheres 

Of sacred forces reverenced by the Seers, I 93° 

Sent me, the Guide of Souls on wisdom's way, 

To show weak mortals, vestured in decay — 

Who have, but use not, my enchanted rod — 

The perfect rites that make of man a God. 

On winged feet I come. Immortal he, 1935 

WTiate'er his color or his cult may be, 7 

Who, heeding well these teachings, can control 

The sacred forces set forth in this scroll." 

Now, I who write this scroll am he who saw 8 

And heard these Mysteries ; overcome with awe 1940 

When I had seen and heard, I fell before 

The winged feet of him whose heavenly lore 

Had been revealed, to worship him, my Guide 

Upon the path the Gods have glorified ; 

But said the God-hierophant to me : 9 1945 

"Nay ; do not so : for I, alike with thee, 

And with your brother-seers, and all who strive 

To keep the holy Mysteries alive, 

xAm but a minor Power before the throne 

Of the Eternal. Worship God alone." 1950 

Again he said to me : "Hide not from men 10 

The mysteries of seership which your pen 



460 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Has written in this scroll ; for unto some 

The mystic Springtime of the soul is come. 

He who has not attuned his heart and mind n 1955 

To the o'ershadowing Soul of all mankind, 

And yet within his selfish heart aspires 

To wield the sacred powers and solar fires, 

Will only rouse within his psychic life 

The elements of discord and of strife ; i960 

And so of one impure : his rash attempt 

Him from his lusts and sins shall not exempt. 

But he who seeks true harmony, and makes 

His heart both pure and selfless, thus awakes 

The holy Power through which the child of earth, J 965 

Divinely quickened, gains the solar birth. 

On winged feet I come, and bring the wage 1 2 

That man has earned in his incarnate stage, 

To pay to each e'en as his work may be. 

The seven sounding vowels tell of me: 13 1970 

I lived eternal ere the dawn of time, 

And I am Man in his immortal prime, 

The first and last in Being's boundless whole, 

The source of life, and life's eternal goal. 

Eternal bliss is theirs who cleanse with care 14 1975 

Their raiment, so that radiant and fair, 

And strengthened by the power of purity, 

They may the fruit of Life's all-healing tree 

Obtain, and thus the sacred city win, 

And through its pearly portals enter in. 1980 

Without the city ever must remain 1 5 

The beast-like souls that bear the filthy stain 

Of nameless vice, the sorcerers, the rakes 

Who live for lust, the men in whom awakes 

The fire of murder foul, the worshippers 1985 

Of phantoms, and whoever still prefers 

Falsehood to truth, and would with priestly guile 

Delude mankind with fables puerile. 



INITIATION 461 

The Sunlike Self sent down to earth from heaven 16 

The Mystery-teacher of the sacred seven. 1990 

A Son of God am I, born from above, 

Thy Self Divine, and star of primal Love." 

The Breath supernal and the mystic Bride 17 

Are saying, "Come." Let him who has descried 

The sacred truths which the initiates share I 995 

Repeat the summons, "Come." Let come whoe'er 

For wisdom thirsts ; and him, whoe'er would fain 

Drink at the living fount, let none restrain. 

To every one whose eager soul has caught 18 

The secret truths which in this scroll are taught 2000 

I here bear witness. But should one whose pen 

Is clipped in falsehood, to beguile all men, 

Add to these words, he adds to his dark soul 

The retributions written in this scroll ; 

Or should he wickedly blot out from it 19 2005 

The sacred truths that in the scroll are writ, 

Him the great Self Eternal will disclaim, 

And from the Book of Life blot out his name, 

That ne'er the holy city he may win, 

Or share the mystic rites portrayed herein. 2010 

"Yea," saith the Witness of this heavenly theme, 20 

The sceptred Guardian of Truth's living stream, 

"On winged feet I come." Om. Come, great Lord ; 

And bring thy loving servants their reward. 

Now, may the beauty of that Self Divine 21 2015 

On all his devotees forever shine. 



THE LETTERS OF PAULOS 

INTRODUCTION 

Of the twenty-one Epistles, fourteen are attributed in the author- 
ized version to Paulos, and the authorship of the others is credited 
to certain mythical disciples of the anthropomorphized Sun-God. 
These letters contain prophecies, unfulfilled and never to be fulfilled, 
of the second coming of Iesous ; and they give an unsystematic pres- 
entation of the dreary dogmas of the new theology, as fabricated 
by the originators of the historicized version of the solar myths, 
interspersed with ideas and phrases plagiarized from the excellent 
writings of Philon Judaios, and with quotations from, and refer- 
ences to, the Book of Enoch, the Ascension of Isaiah, the Assump- 
tion of Moses, and other apocryphal works. There is a letter from 
Ioudas, "the brother of Iakobos" (in the authorized version his 
name is artfully Anglicized as "Jude," to distinguish him from 
"Judas," the traitor) ; and there is also a letter from Iakobos him- 
self. This Iakobos, according to the lively imagination of some 
authorities, was the brother of Iesous, but other authorities indulge 
the fancy that he was the "son of Alphaios" ; other authorities con- 
jecture that the son of Alphaios and the brother of Iesous were one 
and the same individual, while yet other authorities maintain that 
both are wholly creatures of the imagination and not entitled to a 
place in history. Comparing Jude 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, etc., with II Peter 
ii. 4, 6, 10, 11, 15, etc., it is apparent that one writer plagiarized 
from the other. Some of the inspired writers, compilers and redac- 
tors were as lacking in the virtue of literary honesty as they were 
deficient in the sense of humor. In I Peter iv. 7 it is solemnly stated 
that "the end of the universe is at hand." Many long centuries have 
elapsed since this prophecy was penned by the inspired plagiarist, 
and the finger of time scornfully points him out as a false prophet. 
The Second Epistle of Idannes is addressed in the vernacular to 

462 



THE LETTERS OF PAULOS 463 

"dear Kyria" ; it is uncertain whether the writer thus designated by 
her proper name the lady of his choice or whether the word Kyria 
is to be taken as denoting the "mistress of the house" ; but it is quite 
certain that the letter itself is only a theologized billet d' amour. The 
lady is warned against "vagabonds" (planoi) who will not concede 
that Iesous is about to return "in the flesh" ; and she is counselled 
not to extend hospitality to sceptics of that sort, or even to give 
them civil greeting, because any one who speaks courteously to a 
sceptic "becomes a party to his knavish deeds." The fabricator of 
the other two letters attributed to Ioannes laboriously imitates the 
style of, and plagiarizes from, the Fourth Gospel; but he signally 
fails to conceal his own bigotry and absurd superstitions, as when 
he says that "the world is passing away," that "it is the last hour," 
and that "the Antichrist is coming," because "many Antichrists have 
arisen even now, wherefore we know that it is the last hour." 

The Epistles of Paulos are entitled to more serious consideration 
than are the others : for, although most of them are undoubtedly 
spurious, the ones that are partly genuine contain the only traces 
of historicity discoverable in the New Testament. The so-called 
Epistle to the Hebrews, however, has the form, not of a letter, but 
of a sermon, and its composition is more finished and rhetorical 
than that of the letters ascribed to Paulos : it is not an epistle, and it 
is not Pauline. Its many quotations from the Old Testament are 
all copied from the Septuagint, even where that Greek version mis- 
represents the Hebrew original ; and from this it is to be inferred 
that its author was ignorant of the Hebrew language. The Epistle, 
or rather sermon, is a Christianized echo of Philon Judaios. Indeed, 
there is little of any merit in any of the Epistles that was not appro- 
priated from the writings of the great Jewish philosopher. 

Who Paulos was is unknown. Even his name is unknown; for 
"Paulos" is simply a descriptive appellation, the Latin paulus, signi- 
fying a little man. In the Acts of the Apostles he is also called 
Saulos ; and in that implausible work of fiction he is made the hero 
of thrilling adventures, and appears as a miracle-worker second only 
to Petros, who raises the dead widow Dorkas to life. Paulos is said 
in the Acts to have been an accomplice in the murder of a Christian 



464 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

"deacon," and to have persecuted the Christians most brutally until 
he was converted to their cult by the voice of Iesous, which spoke 
to him from the sky. Again he is represented as travelling in com- 
pany with a certain, assistant priest ("Levite") named loses or 
Ioseph, who was surnamed Bar-Nabas, the latter name being erro- 
neously interpreted by the author of the Acts as "son of exhorta- 
tion." The veracious chronicler relates that when Paulos was at 
Lystra he magically healed a cripple, whereupon the natives of that 
city declared that he and his companion were Gods who had de- 
scended in the semblance of men ; "and Bar-Nabas they called Zeus, 
and Paulos, Hermes." Now, although interpolations have been 
foisted in the Epistles to confirm some of these fabrications in the 
Acts, other passages in the Epistles are wholly irreconcilable with 
them. Paulos states that he derived his knowledge through spiri- 
tual illumination, and describes himself as a "master-builder," a 
manager of the Mysteries who visited the assemblies or lodges in 
that capacity : he was therefore a Hermes, a messenger of the central 
Lodge, and as such when present at any of the minor lodges he 
would be its hierophant or initiator. Naturally, when visiting the 
lodges he would be accompanied by a lesser hierophant, the hydra- 
nos, whose office it would be to instruct candidates in their duties 
and administer to them the symbolic rite of purification by water. 
The word nabia signifies a mantis, or seer; and Bar-Nabas means, 
not "son of exhortation," but "the junior seer," thus denoting the 
lesser hierophant. There is thus a glimmer of truth in the fable 
that the people mistook Paulos and Bar-Nabas for Zeus and 
Hermes: and the name loses, with its variant Ioseph, here as in 
Mark vi. 3, is very probably a substitute for Ioannes, and therefore 
reminiscent of the hydranos, or so-called "baptizer." Even the mis- 
translation, "son of exhortation," points to the lesser hierophant, 
whose duty it was to exhort the candidates to practise the virtues. 
If Paulos had been guilty of the crimes charged against him in the 
Acts he could not have been initiated even in the Lesser Mysteries ; 
but none of these statements found in the Acts and in the spurious 
portions of the Epistles are worthy of credence, not even the asser- 
tion that Paulos was of Jewish extraction. From his slighting 



THE LETTERS OF PAULOS 465 

remark about the decadent Jewish priesthood, and from the terms 
of the rebuke he administered to Kephas, it is to be inferred that he 
himself was not a Jew. 

As an initiate would not entrust to writing any of the secret teach- 
ings, it is not to be expected that anything of the sort is contained 
in the Epistles. It would seem that the originators of the new re- 
ligion, having somehow obtained possession of a few letters written 
by a "pagan" hierophant, revised and expanded them to suit their 
own purposes. The theological interpolations are written in quite 
a different style from that which characterizes the portions of the 
Epistles that may reasonably be regarded as genuine. 

Three of the Letters are given here, as the only ones retaining 
a distinctly Pauline element. The theological and pseudo-mystical 
passages are stricken out; and the translator has endeavored to 
reproduce accurately the meaning and force of the original. The 
word apostolos is rendered "Hermes" ; evangelion, "Gnosis" ; and 
Cliristos, the "Self." For the technical terms in the text are Chris- 
tian substitutes for "pagan" ones, even as they are in the Synoptics. 

In the Letter to the Galatians Paulos warns the "Brothers" 
against certain pseudo-teachers who are endeavoring to lead them 
astray. He states that the doctrines he himself has imparted to 
them have been received by him through an apocalypse (unveiling), 
that is, by the Divine Vision (epopteia), or spiritual illumination 
in the true initiation. At the first dawn of the spiritual perception 
he withdrew to Arabia ; he does not say why he went there, or how T 
long he stayed, but states abruptly that he "returned again to 
Damaskos." Now, the communes of the Essenian "Brothers" were 
in Arabia, and it is very probable that whoever edited the Letter 
deemed it expedient to strike out whatever Paulos may have written 
about his stay among the Essenes, who were ascetics devoted to the 
contemplative life and the study of the sacred science. Three years 
after his return to Damaskos he went to Jerusalem and made the 
acquaintance of Kephas. Later on, Kephas came to Antioch, and 
his conduct while there was so cowardly and hypocritical that Paulos 
administered to him a scathing rebuke. It would seem that this 
Kephas was the Jewish pseudo-teacher who was afterwards ficti- 



466 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

tiously identified with the mythical Simon of the Gospels by the 
simple device of translating the Chaldaic name Kephas into Greek 
as Petros and bestowing it upon Simon as a surname, for the purpose 
of creating an "historical" disciple of Iesous, to serve as a founda- 
tion for a "church" which was built upon the mythobiography of the 
Sun-God. The denunciation of Kephas by Paulos has evidently 
been softened by the editors of the text : it begins as a reprimand, 
but changes abruptly into a rambling discourse on "faith" as the 
sole means of salvation. It is clear that the charlatans who were 
embroiling the Galatians were of the party of Kephas; for, other- 
wise, what is said of him would be quite irrelevant. In this Letter 
Paulos refers to Iesous the Anointed as having been portrayed be- 
fore the eyes of the Galatians as a man crucified, and speaks of the 
Anointed "becoming formed" in the neophytes. He quotes the old 
proverb, found in the writings of Plato, Cicero and others, "What 
a man sows, that he shall also reap," and affirms that he who sows 
to the material nature reaps mortality (reincarnation), and he who 
sows to the spiritual nature reaps immortality (emancipation). 

The Letter to the Korinthians was written because of a division 
among the "Brothers" there, some of whom regarded themselves 
as disciples of Paulos, while others made claim to be disciples of 
Apollos. The text has a reference also to Kephas ; but this, in the 
light of what is said of him in the Letter to the Galatians, is clearly 
an impudent interpolation. Paulos explains that he and Apollos are 
working in harmony as helpers of the Divine Self and managers of 
the Mysteries. In the Acts (xviii. 24 et seq.) Apollos is said to 
have been an Alexandrian Jew who knew only the lustration of 
Ioannes and had received only the catechetical instructions; but 
Paulos in this Letter describes him as being a hierophant, and ranks 
him as equal if not superior to himself. The name Apollos is a 
contraction of Apollonios, "Apollo-like." 

The Letter to the Thessalonikans, as given here, is extracted from 
two Epistles which are generally held to be either spurious or doubt- 
ful. These Epistles abound in moral platitudes and sanctimonious 
phrases, and include, among other amazing imbecilities, this proph- 
ecy, made "by the word of the Lord," but which nevertheless proved 



THE LETTERS OF PAULOS 467 

to be a false alarm : "The Lord himself shall descend from the sky, 
with an arousing shout, with an archangel's voice and God's trum- 
pet ; and the dead in Christ shall arise first, then we who are living, 
who remain, shall together with them be carried away in the clouds 
to meet the Lord in the air." Eliminating these absurd forgeries, 
the two Epistles are reduced to a few manly admonitions that differ 
materially in style and quality from the interpolations. 



LETTER TO THE GAL ATI AN S 

[i. 1-3, 6-9, 11, 12, 15-18, 21, 22; ii. 1, 2, 6, 11-14; iii. I, 3-5, 9-13, 15-17, 
19, 20; v. 7, 10, 13, 16, 17, 22-24; vi. 7, 8] 

Paulos, a Hermes, and all the Brothers who are with me, to the 
Lodges of Galatia : Greeting and Peace. 

I am astonished that you are falling away so quickly from the one 
who, by favor of the Self, called you, and are taking up with a dif- 
ferent Gnosis — which is nothing else than that certain persons are 
embroiling you, and are desirous to pervert the Gnosis of the Self. 
But even though we or a God from heaven should bring you a 
Gnosis contrary to that which we imparted to you, let him be re- 
garded as apostate. For I declare to you, Brothers, that the Gnosis 
which was imparted to me is not of human origin. I neither re- 
ceived it from a man, nor was I taught it ; but it was made known 
to me through initiation. Now, when He who had set me apart 
from my birth graciously chose to unveil his Son in me, I refrained 
at once from holding communication with a human being, but 

instead I went away into Arabia and returned again to 

Damaskos. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem, in order 
to become acquainted with Kephas, and stayed with him fifteen 
days. Then I came into the regions of Syria and Kilikia; but I was 
unknown by face to the lodges in Judaea. Then after fourteen years 
I went up again to Jerusalem with the lesser hierophant, and took 
Titos also along. But I went up with relation to initiation, and 
placed before them the Gnosis which I am teaching among the other 
nations, but privately, to persons of repute. But those [Jewish 



468 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

priests] who are reputed to be something (what they once were 
is to me a matter of indifference) communicated nothing to me. 

But when Kephas came to Antioch, I stood up against him in 
person, because a charge [of cowardice and hypocrisy] had been 
laid against him. For before the coming of certain persons from 
[Jerusalem], he was eating with men of other nations; but when 
they came, he withdrew and secluded himself, being afraid of the 
circumcised Jews! And the rest of the Jews played the hypocrite 
together with him, so that even the lesser hierophant was led astray 
by their hypocrisy. But when I saw that they did not walk uprightly 
according to the truth, I said to Kephas before them all: "If you, 
although you are a Jew, are living like non- Jewish peoples, and not 
as the Jews do, why are you requiring disciples from other nations 
to adopt Jewish rites and customs ?" 

Ah, undiscerning Galatians, who has cast a spell upon you, to 
whom the incarnate Self was depicted before your eyes crucified? 
Are you so undiscerning — having begun your initiation in the spirit, 
are you now come to an end in the carnal nature ? Did you undergo 
so much to no purpose — if indeed to no purpose? Does he who 
supplies to you the very breath of life, and energizes the spiritual 
forces in you, do it as resulting from ritualistic observances, or as 
resulting from your belief in oral instructions? Now, however, 
when you have obtained knowledge of the Self, how is it that you 
are turning back again to the feeble and beggarly elements, and are 
willing to be again in bondage to them ? You scrupulously observe 
days, and moons, and seasons, and cycles! I fear about you that 
somehow I have exerted myself for you to no purpose. 

Brothers, I entreat you to become as I am [spiritually], because 
I also am like you [physically]. You have done me no wrong: you 
saw that with an infirm body I at first announced the Gnosis to you, 
and you did not show contempt when you were put to the test by 
my physical appearance, but received me as a Hermes. What, then, 
was your glad welcome— for I bear you testimony that you would, 
if possible, have dug out your eyes and given them to me? And so, 
because I speak the truth to you, have I become your enemy ? These 
[false teachers] are trying to ingratiate themselves with you to no 



THE LETTERS OF PAULOS 469 

good intent; on the contrary, they desire to get you expelled [from 
the Lodge], that you may become eager towards them. My little 
children, with whom I am again in travail while the Self is becom- 
ing formed in you, I did just now desire to be present with you 
and to change my tone ; for I do not know what to do about you. 
You were running well — who checked you, that you should not obey 
the truth ? I have confidence in regard to you that you will set your 
mind on nothing else ; but he who is embroiling you, whoever he may 
be, shall bear due condemnation. 

Brothers, you were called to freedom— only not that "freedom" 
which affords a pretext for the carnal nature. On the contrary, 
regulate your lives by the spiritual nature, and you will not accom- 
plish the desires of the carnal. For the corporeal nature yearns 
adversely to the spiritual, and the spiritual nature adversely to the 
corporeal ; for these are in opposition to each other to the end that 
you may not do the things that you desire. The fruit of the spiri- 
tual nature is love, joy, peace, clemency, nobleness of disposition, 
gentleness and self-mastery. And they who are consecrated to the 
Self have crucified the corporeal nature, together with its conditions 
and desires. 

Brothers, if a person happens to be detected in any fault, let you, 
the spiritual ones, restore such a person in a spirit of meekness. 
Consider yourselves individually, that you may not also be put to the 
test. Do not be led astray: for "what a man sows he will also 
gather as his harvest." He who sows in his corporeal nature will 
gather from the corporeal nature mortality as the harvest ; but who- 
ever sows in the spiritual nature will gather from the spiritual na- 
ture life immortal. 



LETTER TO THE KORINTHIANS 

[I. i. 1-3, 10-14, I7> 18, 20; ii. 6-8, 13-15; iii. 1-6, 10; iv. I, 6-16] 

Paulos, designated a Hermes [by the Central Lodge], to the 
Lodge at Korinthos : Greeting and Peace. 

Brothers, I entreat you to preserve harmony in your discussions, 



470 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

and to avoid having schisms among you; and that 3^011 become re- 
united in the same mind and the same opinion. For it has been 
shown to me in respect to you, Brothers, that there are dissensions 
among you. What I refer to is this : every one of you keeps saying, 
"I am a disciple of Paulos," or "I am a disciple of Apollonios," or 
"I am a disciple of the Self." Is the Self divided? Was Paulos 
crucified in your behalf, or were you lustrated in the name of 
Paulos? I give thanks that I lustrated none of you; for the Lodge 
did not commission me to lustrate, but. to teach the Gnosis — not, 
however, in cleverness of doctrine — to the end that the cross of the 
Self may not become an empty symbol. For the arcane doctrine of 
the cross is an absurdity to those who strive for things that perish ; 
but to us who are winning our immortality it is a sacred science. 
What, then, is the attitude of the scholar, the man of letters, the 
rationalist of this age? Did not God make the science of this world 
foolish? But among men who are spiritually full-grown we dis- 
course on science — not, however, the "science" of this age, nor of 
the hierophants of this age, who are becoming of no account — but 
we discourse on the divine science, in a Mystery, preserved in in- 
violable secrecy, which none of the hierophants of this age has 
known? This it is which we speak, not in propositions taught by 
human science, but communicating spiritual truths to spiritual men. 
Now, the psychic self does not apprehend the truths of the spirit; 
for to him they are foolishness, and he can not understand them, 
because they are spiritually examined. But the spiritual Self exam- 
ines the universe. And we have the Higher Mind. And I, Brothers, 
was not able to talk to you as spiritual men, but as carnal : as babes, 
I fed you on milk, not solid food, which you were not yet able to 
digest. Nor are you yet able ; for— you are carnal ! When there is 
rivalry and strife among you, are you not carnal, and do you not 
conduct yourselves humanly? For when one says, "I am a follower 
of Paulos," and another, "I am a follower of Apollonios," are you 
not carnal? What, then, is Apollonios, and what is Paulos? Ser- 
vants through whom you came into faith. I set out the plants, 
Apollonios watered them — but it was God that made them grow. 
We two are God's fellow-workers, and you are God's harvest. 



THE LETTERS OF PAULOS 471 

By the favor of God which was bestowed on me, as a skilful 
master-builder I laid a foundation, and another [Apollonios] is 
building upon it. Let a man so account of us as helpers of the Self 
and temple-managers of the sacred Mysteries. Now, Brothers, I 
have applied these metaphors to Apollonios and myself on your 
account, so that in reference to us you may learn not to rate [either 
of us] beyond what is written, that no one of you may be arrogant 
in behalf of the one as against the other. For who conferred superi- 
ority upon 3'ou, and what do you possess which you did not receive 
[from an initiate] ? But if you did receive it, why do you boast as 
if you had not received it? Already you are satiated, already you 
are rich; you have become kings (initiates) independently of us 
—and I would that you had attained royal power, that we also might 
participate in your sovereignty ! For I am of opinion that God has 
exhibited us, the last of the Hermse, as men condemned to death : 
for we have become a public spectacle to the world, both to Gods and 
men. We are simpletons, but you are sages ; we are weak, but you 
are mighty ; you are illustrious, but we are unhonored. To the pres- 
ent hour we suffer hunger and thirst, and are ragged and homeless 
wanderers ; and we grow weary with manual labor. When reviled, 
we speak kindly ; when persecuted, we endure ; when calumniated, 
we are suppliant ; we are become now as the scum of the earth, the 
off scouring of the universe ! I am not writing these things to shame 
you, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you 
have ten thousand pedagogues, yet you have not any number of 
fathers; for I alone am your father in the [Mysteries]. I entreat 
you, therefore, become sons in my likeness. 



LETTER TO THE THESSALONIKANS • 

[I. i. 1; ii. 1, 3-8; II. iii. 6-8, 10-12, 14, 15] 

Paulos, Silouanos and Timotheos to the Lodge of Thessaloni- 
kans : Greeting. Peace be with you. 

Brothers, you know that the official visit we made you has not 
turned out to be fruitless. For our appeal to you did not spring 



472 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

from vagaries of opinion or from the unpurified nature, nor was it 
made with concealed motives; on the contrary, as we have been 
approved worthy to be entrusted with the Gnosis, so we speak, mak- 
ing no attempt to curry favor with men. For, as you know, we 
were not given to flattering discourse, nor to pretentious arrogance, 
nor were we seeking the favorable opinion of men — either of you 
or of any one else — although we have influential rank as Hermse [of 
the Central Lodge]. But we became babes among you ! As though 
a nurse were fostering her own children, so we, yearning over you, 
were delighted to impart to you not only the Gnosis but also our own 
souls, because you had become greatly endeared to us. 

Now, we admonish you, Brothers, to shun every Brother who is a 
straggler outside the ranks, and does not follow the tradition which 
you received from us. For you know how 't is right and proper 
for you to imitate us, because we did not fall out of line when 
among you, nor did we eat any one's bread as a gratuity ; but in toil 
and hardship we worked day and night, so as not to become a bur- 
den to any one of you. For even when we were with you we gave 
you this admonition, "If any one is unwilling to work, neither let 
him eat." We hear that some of you have become stragglers from 
the ranks, doing no work at all, but are meddlesome loafers. Now, 
we admonish such persons to keep quiet, go to work, and eat their 
own bread. If any one does not comply with our doctrine as stated 
in this letter, take note of that man, and refuse to associate with 
him, so as to bring him to a sense of shame. Yet do not regard him 
as an enemy, but give him brotherly advice. 



PART SECOND 

THE SYNOPTIC GOSPELS, TRANSLATED INTO 

MODERN ENGLISH, WITH COMMENTS 

ON THE SPURIOUS PORTIONS 



INTRODUCTION 

In Part First of this work it has been shown that the true and 
beautiful portions of the Synoptic Gospels constitute a consistent 
allegory of initiation, and that this allegory, which is paralleled by 
the Apocalypse, is couched in the symbolic language of the Solar 
cult, and is thoroughly Hellenic in every characteristic, having no 
real connection with the religious system and sacred literature of the 
Jews, or with the native land and history of that people. Taking 
the full text of the Synoptics, it will now be pointed out that all the 
ostensibly Jewish portions of the narrative are the execrable work of 
forgers who were ignorant of the Hebrew language, and who had 
no knowledge of things Judaic save what they could derive from 
the Greek version of the Old Testament and from the writings of 
Josephus and Tacitus. In converting the Greek allegory into a 
pseudo- Jewish history, in which it is mendaciously asserted that 
the Jews brought about the agonizing death of an incarnated God, 
a World-Savior, the forgers made many errors of a kind that would 
not be found in a work of Jewish origin : indeed, no Jew could have 
had any part in fabricating this heartless libel on his nation, this 
travesty on the Jewish sacred writings. The writers who compiled 
the Synoptics by working over a Greek Mystery-drama into a ficti- 
tious history are of course unknown : forgers are not usually anxious 
to receive credit for their literary performances. The names Mat- 
thew, Mark and Luke prefixed to these Gospels merely represent an 
ecclesiastical tradition, or rather fiction: for it is not known who 
Matthew, Mark and Luke were, beyond what is said of them in the 
New Testament itself, which nowhere credits them with the author- 
ship of the Gospels. Matthew (Matthaios) may, by phonetic jug- 
gling, be converted into a Hebrew word, Mattitheah, "God's Gift" ; 
Luke (Loukas) is supposed to be an abbreviation of the Latin Lu- 
canus, and Mark (Markos) is an undisguised Roman name, Marcus. 

475 



476 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

The simple fact is that nothing can be learned about the Synoptics 
except what can be wrested from the text itself. 

Of the known Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, two are 
supposed to date from the fourth century, three, from the fifth, and 
one from the sixth ; but it may be that none of them are even that 
old. Of the remaining copies, over twelve hundred in number, none 
can safely be assigned to a date earlier than the tenth century. The 
later copies contain passages (as, for instance, the concluding twelve 
verses of Mark) which are not found in the older copies and are 
therefore rejected by careful critics as spurious. But the Beza, one 
of these six older copies, is admitted to be extremely corrupt : al- 
though it includes only the Gospels and Acts, it contains many bold 
and extensive interpolations— more of them than any other manu- 
script extant. The Sinaitic Codex, another of the six, includes the 
Epistle of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hernias, two wholly spuri- 
ous productions. Now, the early centuries were prolific in ecclesi- 
astical forgeries : many fraudulent Gospels, Epistles, etc., were pro- 
duced, and a few of them are still extant. Even non-Christian 
writings did not escape the forgers ; for we find the most daring and 
impudent interpolations, referring to Jesus, his brother James, and 
John the Baptist, foisted in the text of the Jewish historian Josephus. 
These facts alone are sufficient to awaken a suspicion that even the 
oldest manuscripts are far from being faithful copies of the primi- 
tive text; and when the Synoptics are critically examined, the diver- 
sities of literary style and certain peculiarities of the Greek being 
noted, it is found that the text as we now have it is a patchwork : it 
has been added to and altered at various times and by different 
forgers— and always to its detriment. The text is encrusted, so to 
say, with several layers of forgery. 

The Synoptics are written in the common Greek vernacular of the 
early centuries, the debased Attic dialect ; and a few Latin words are 
found in them. The so-called "New Testament Greek," and the 
supposed Aramaic coloring of Mark, exist only in the theological 
imagination. Indeed, the name Marcus, and the many Latinisms 
in the text of Mark, lead to the inference that the compiler of that 
Gospel was a Roman. The writings have none of the peculiarities 



INTRODUCTION 477 

of translated work; the quotations (or rather misquotations) from 
the Old Testament are taken from the Greek version, thereby be- 
traying the fact that the compilers were ignorant of Hebrew ; and 
recently discovered papyri, approximately contemporaneous with 
the Gospels and written in the same Greek dialect, show conclu- 
sively that the dialect was at that time the common vernacular of 
daily life. The forgers of the Gospels were uncultured men, who 
penned the same language that they used orally, being incapable of 
writing in the more elaborate literary style, though in Luke a few 
sporadic attempts are made in that direction, the result, however, 
being labored and amateurish. The literary style of the Synoptics 
is, for the most part, surprisingly crude and inelegant, in strange 
contrast with the sublimity of the subject as a whole and the lofty 
ethics inculcated in the passages that may be regarded as genuine. 

The three Gospels cover the same ground. Mark is more primi- 
tive than the others and contains but a few verses that are not incor- 
porated in the other two ; these verses peculiar to Mark are, however, 
partly later forgeries, added after Matthew and Luke had been com- 
piled, and partly material which the later compilers seem to have 
rejected in order to falsify the text more thoroughly. Matthew and 
Luke may safely be looked upon as merely revised and enlarged 
copies of Mark, made independently and intended to supersede it. 
Subsequently the text of each was further falsified by various 
forgers ; and so it is not surprising that when, in an uncritical age, 
all the three Gospels thus fabricated were received as inspired and 
canonical, they contained many conflicting statements. Even when 
taken separately, not one of them gives a consistent narrative. The 
desirability of harmonizing them was not seen until the multiplica- 
tion of manuscripts had made this impracticable. Thus it is that 
we now have, bound in the same volume, the primitive compilation 
and two variant and expanded copies of it, the three of them being 
rendered still more discordant by alterations and additions made by 
later forgers who endeavored surreptitiously to make their sacred 
text keep pace with the development of the dismal theology of the 
new religion. Some of these interpolations are in Latin only, appar- 
ently foisted in the text by forgers who were unacquainted with 



478 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Greek. The English received version, which includes many passages 
which are now rejected as spurious by every competent critic, fol- 
lows the Latin version more closely than it does the Greek original, 
and besides being extremely inaccurate betrays the theological bias 
of the translators. The learned revisers, hampered by the fear of 
offending sectarians, and loath to disturb the faith of the multitude 
by a too honest translation, failed to produce a version satisfactory 
to scholars, but succeeded bravely in destroying the rhythm of the 
old version ; their work is inaccurate and unpleasing. 

The composite structure of the Synoptics, when analyzed, shows 
that the text must have passed through three distinct stages before 
reaching its present form : the original myth was of pagan Greek 
origin, antedating Christianity by many centuries, and was em- 
bodied in a metrical drama pertaining to the sacred Mysteries; 
prose notes of this drama were recast to form a fictitious Jewish 
history, extensive changes and additions being made, but essentially 
pagan elements predominating; and finally, when the new cult had 
become differentiated from paganism to a marked degree, and a 
peculiar system of belief had been formulated, the Gospels were 
progressively falsified to make them accord with the theology in- 
vented by the priests. Three elements are therefore to be distin- 
guished in the text : first, the narrative as a whole, the superb work 
of a great dramatic genius, inspired as all true poets are, and versed 
in the sublime mysteries of the inner life ; second, the rewording of 
the narrative by an inferior writer, who was incapable of reproduc- 
ing the beauty of the original, but afforded a rugged outline of it in 
simple prose; and, third, the unlovely work of the compilers who 
plagiarized it, and the ugly interpolations added by later forgers 
during the early centuries in which the noble faith of old became 
distorted into the chaos of irrational beliefs now collectively termed 
Christianity. 

Only by dishonorable means could the notes of the Mystery- 
drama have passed into the hands of the men who utilized them to 
fabricate the Gospels and to found the peculiar cult which eventu- 
ally developed into the Christian religion. The notes were, no 
doubt, incomplete, and the pages scattered ; for the incidents in the 



INTRODUCTION 479 

Gospels are often not in correct sequence, and in some instances 
portions of the same passage are dissevered and given in widely 
separated places, while extraordinary discrepancies are observable 
among the three compilations. While some of these dislocations 
were made with fraudulent intent, others are clearly due solely to 
the ignorance of the compilers. In making these notes the basis 
for a history of a mythical Iesous, converting the Greek Sun-God 
into a Jewish Messiah, the myth was connected with the Jewish 
scriptures by making out that Iesous was a reincarnation of King 
David, and Ioannes "the baptist" a reincarnation of Elijah, and 
similarly that other characters were transmigrated Jewish worthies ; 
but this element of reincarnation was almost obliterated later on, 
after the priests had invented the peculiarly Christian doctrine of 
eternal damnation. Mark was evidently compiled at an earlier date 
than were the other Gospels. The compilers of Matthew and Luke, 
having come into the possession of additional notes, composed their 
respective Gospels by incorporating these notes in the text of Mark, 
which they partly reworded, at the same time adding fresh forgeries 
to it. Their work is done very unskilfully: the compiler of Mat- 
thew, by inadvertently weaving into the text notes that had already 
been used in the compilation of Mark, made many curious repeti- 
tions ; and the compiler of Luke massed nearly all of his additional 
notes in one place, regardless of the continuity of the narrative, and 
with hardly a pretence of orderly arrangement. The word Evan- 
gelion, used in the titles of these compilations, signifies "good mes- 
sage" ; but the English word "Gospel" is derived from the Anglo- 
Saxon Godspell, "God-story," and therefore does not correctly 
represent the Greek, though it is certainly a more appropriate title. 
However, as this God-story, the mythos of the crucified Sun-God, 
was stolen from the pagan Greeks, the Christians have no better 
title to it than they have to the Old Testament, which they unblush- 
ingly appropriated from the protesting Jews. The only "sacred" 
writings to which Christianity can justly lay claim are the wholly 
spurious ones, such as the Acts of the Apostles and the still more 
fantastic Gospel of the Infancy. 

In the following translation the received text is adhered to, save 



480 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

for a few slight grammatical corrections from more carefully edited 
texts. A number of readings found in the manuscripts,, but which 
are excluded from the orthodox versions, are included; these, and 
also readings given in the received version but rejected by the re- 
visers, are placed in double brackets, [ [ ] ] . Inasmuch as about half 
of the text is spurious, it seems unfair to discriminate against later 
forgers, who had quite as good a right to enrich the inspired text 
with their pen-productions as had their equally unscrupulous pre- 
decessors. Words not found in the Greek, but which are required 
by the English idiom, are put in brackets, [ ] ; but where there is 
an actual lacuna, a gap in the text, so that the English words sup- 
plied to complete the sense are conjectural, these words are both 
bracketed and italicized. Quotations from the Old Testament are 
distinguished by printing them in italics. All passages which appear 
to have been derived from the notes of the Mystery-drama, and 
which in substance are incorporated in The Anointing of I e sous, are 
printed in type of a bolder face, to distinguish them from the infe- 
rior work of the forgers ; but, owing to the corrupt and mutilated 
condition of the text, this distinction by means of different type- 
faces is only general and approximate, since the minor changes in 
the text can not be indicated by this device. Names of persons and 
places are given in their conventionally Anglicized forms, when 
they have any real place in history, mythology or geography; but 
the names of persons and places that are unknown save in the New 
Testament are retained in the Greek form. The translation aims to 
represent roughly, if not actually to imitate, the unpolished literary 
style of the Greek text, or rather the various styles discernible in 
its heterogeneous composition. 



[[THE GOOD TIDINGS]] ACCORDING 
TO MARK 

Chapter i. i-8 

i The original of the good tidings of Anointed Iesous, [ [the Son 
of God.]] 

2 Just as it is written in Isaiah the seer : 

"Behold, I am sending my messenger before thy face, 
Who shall make ready thy way; 

3 The voice of one who in the desert keeps shouting, 
'The Master's way prepare ye, 

Make ye his pathways straight'— 
[ [Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be 
made low, and all crooked things shall be made straight and the 
rough [land] a plain, and the glory of the Master shall be seen, and 
all flesh shall see the salvation of God. For the Master has spoken, 
a voice saying: 'Cry out and say what I shall cry out, That all flesh 
is grass and all its glory is as a flower of grass; the grass withers 
and the flower perishes, but the word of the Master remains 
throughout the ceon.' " And] ] 4 Ioannes arose, he who in the 
desert lustrates and proclaims the lustration of reform for 
emancipation from sins. 5 And the whole Judaean country and 
all the Jerusalemites were going out to him and being lustrated 
by him in the Jordan river, their sins confessing. 6 And 
Ioannes was wearing a camel-hair [tunic], and about his loins 
he [had strapped] a leathern belt, and he ate locusts and wild 
honey. 7 And he made proclamation, saying : 

"Behind me is coming [the Hierophant] who is mightier 
than I, as to whom I am not strong enough to stoop down and 
unlace the thong of his sandals. 8 I have lustrated you with 
Water; but he shall lustrate you with the sacred Air." 

481 



482 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

Verse 1 appears to be a subtitle signifying that Mark was the first 
narration of the life and mission of Iesous. The translation, "The 
beginning of the good tidings," etc., makes poor sense; while the 
rendering, "Good tidings concerning Anointed Iesous began to be 
proclaimed, even as," etc., is strained and implausible, for the "even 
as" obviously relates to verse 4, the sense being that Ioannes arose, 
etc., even as had been prophesied. The interpolation following 
verse 3 is found only in the Washington manuscript (which is sup- 
posed to date from the beginning of the fifth century or the latter 
part of the fourth) ; it disjoins the sentence into which it is wedged, 
and exemplifies very strikingly the fondness of the forgers for foist- 
ing in the text garbled quotations from the Jewish scriptures. 

In later Greek the word prophetcs has the same meaning as 
mantis, "a seer." Prophecy, in the sense of seeing or predicting 
future events, is but a phase of seership. It is hardly necessary to 
say that none of the alleged "prophecies" quoted from the Old 
Testament have any reference to either Iesous or Ioannes. The 
passage here ascribed to Isaiah is a falsified quotation taken partly 
from Malachi iii. 1 and partly from Isaiah xl. 3. In some of the 
later manuscripts the forgers have changed "Isaiah the seer" to 
"the seers" ; but this timid emendation does not help matters much, 
for both of the "prophets" are incorrectly quoted : the quotation 
from Malachi is altered from the future to the present tense, and 
that from Isaiah refers to "Jehovah," not to "the Master," or Iesous, 
and reads : "Prepare ye in the wilderness the way of Jehovah ; make 
level in the desert a highway for our God." The word kyrios, "mas- 
ter," conventionally translated "Lord," is a Greek title of the Sun- 
God ; and the Jewish "Jehovah" was but another name for the Solar 
Lord. 

Among the Greeks, the hydranos, "bather" or "sprinkler," was 
the presiding priest, or initiator, in the Lesser Mysteries. He ad- 
ministered to candidates the symbolic rite of purification by water, 
and instructed them in the moral code and in subjects relating to 
the psychic stages of development. All candidates had to confess 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 483 

their sins to him; and those who were guilty of homicide or any 
other serious offence were by law excluded from the initiatory rites. 
The word hydranos has been fraudulently changed to ho baptizon, 
"he who dips," in an ineffectual attempt to conceal the connection 
with the Greek Mysteries; elsewhere the coined word baptistes is 
used in the text as the title of Ioannes. Baptistes is strictly a Nezv 
Testament word, being found nowhere else save in the forgery 
foisted in the text of Josephus {Antiquities, xviii. 5. 2), in which 
the mythical Ioannes is made to appear as an historical character. 
The Jews did not practise the rite of "baptism" ; but here the Hy- 
dranos is made to play a Jewish role, under the name of Ioannes, 
reminiscent of Oannes, the Babylonian Fish-God, also called Dagon, 
and who is the same as the Greek Poseidon, God of the Water. The 
notion of making Ioannes a recluse in the wilderness was very 
probably suggested to the forger by what Josephus says {Life, p. 2) 
of his own teacher, whose name was Banos, and who lived an ascetic 
life in the desert, bathing himself very frequently in cold water. 
But whereas Banos wore no clothing save the leaves from trees, and 
ate only the things that he found growing in the desert, Ioannes had 
locusts added to his frugal diet, as permitted by Leviticus xi. 22 ; 
and the costume in which he was disguised was suggested by that 
of Elijah (II Kings 1. 8 and Zechariah xiii. 4), on the theory that 
he was Elijah reincarnated, and wearing the same uncomfortable 
clothing that he wore before being translated to heaven. 

Ch. 1. 9-13 

9 And in those days it befell that Iesous came from Nazaret 
of Galilee, and was lustrated by Ioannes in the Jordan. 10 And 
immediately as he rose up from the water he saw the sky part- 
ing asunder and the Air like a dove descending upon him ; 1 1 
and a voice from the sky [declared] : 

"Thou art my beloved Son, of whom I have approved." 
12 And immediately into the desert the Air drives him. 13 
And he was forty days in the desert, being made trial of by the 
Accuser ; and with the beasts was he ; and the Divinities served 
up [a banquet] to him. 



484 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

Nazaret is nowhere mentioned in the Old Testament or in the 
Talmud ; it is first introduced to geography in the Gospels, where it 
is variously named Nazareth, Nazaret, Nazarath and Nazara. Out- 
side the Gospels and the Acts, the word is not found until it re- 
appears, centuries later, in the veracious pages of Eusebios. Appar- 
ently the forgers at first gave Iesous the distinction of being a 
Jewish Nazarite ; but finding, later on, that the character could not 
be made to fit him, they invented the fictitious town of "Nazaret" 
and so called him a Nazarene instead of designating him as a 
Nazarite. Ioannes, who abstained from all intoxicating beverages 
(Luke i. 15), might be regarded as a Nazarite; but not so Iesous, 
who even in the Gospels (Luke vii. 34) does not quite lose the 
attributes of the solar Dionysos. The modern town of Nazareth 
is, of course, merely one of the towns rechristened by pious Chris- 
tian archaeologists in the attempt to make the geography of the 
"Holy Land" conform to Gospel fiction. 

The words uttered by the sky-voice are a blended quotation from 
Isaiah xlii. 1, "Behold, my servant whom I uphold, my chosen in 
whom I delight," and Psalms ii. 7, "Thou art my son, this day have 
I begotten thee." Some manuscripts give the latter quotation in 
place of the words in the received text. Iesous, it should be noted, 
is already in the desert when the Air drives him forth into it ! The 
forty days during which he is tried by the Accuser and the other 
"beasts" should be forty-two, to be in conformity with the allegory. 

Ch. 1. 14-20 

14 And after Ioannes had been handed over, Iesous came 
into Galilee, proclaiming the good tidings of God's realm, 15 
and saying : 

"The season is completed, and God's realm has drawn near. 
Reform ye, and in the good tidings believe !" 

16 And walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and 
Andreas, Simon's brother, spreading a dragnet in the sea; for 
they were fishermen. 1 7 And Iesous said to them : 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 485 

"Come along after me, and I shall constitute you fishers of 



men." 



18 And immediately they left their nets and went along after 
him. 19 And having gone on a short distance, he saw Iakobos, 
son of Zebedaios, and his brother Ioannes; and they were in 
the ship mending the nets. 20 And forthwith he called them, 
and they left their father Zebedaios in the ship with the hire- 
lings and went away after him. 

COMMENTARY 

The promptitude with which the first four disciples forsook 
everything and followed him would lead to the inference that they 
were already acquainted with him. The allegory demands that they 
should be his brothers; but, owing to the literal acceptance of the 
story of Iesous being God-begotten, the compilers of the Gospels 
were very timid in referring to his family affairs. 

Ch. 1. 21-28 

21 And they go into Kapernaum ; and immediately on the sabbath 
day he entered into the synagogue and taught. 22 And they were 
astounded at his teaching; for he was teaching them as having au- 
thority, and not as the scribes. 23 And immediately there was a 
man in their synagogue [possessed] by an unclean spirit, and he 
cried out, 24 saying: 

"Ha! What [matters it] to us and to you, Nazarene Iesous? 
Are you come to destroy us? I know you, who you are— God's 
devotee !" 

25 And Iesous reproved him, saying: 
"Keep quiet, and come out of him." 

26 And the unclean spirit, throwing him into convulsions and 
screaming with a loud voice, came out of him. 27 And all were 
amazed, so that they discussed it among themselves, saying : 

"What is this — a new teaching? With authority he gives orders 
even to the unclean spirits, and they obey him I" 

28 And the report about him went out immediately everywhere 
into the whole country round about Galilee. 



486 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

This threadbare little story may safely be credited to the forgers ; 
in fact, it is a fair sample of their amateurish scribbling. It repre- 
sents Iesous as teaching dogmatically, "having authority'' to dis- 
pense with dialectics ; but after giving the narrative this fine eccle- 
siastical touch, the forgers do not venture to record any of the 
teachings, their inventive faculty evidently not being equal to the 
task ; nor do they explain why the "unclean spirit" possessed deeper 
insight than the people in the synagogue had. 

Kapernaum is not mentioned in the Old Testament, and modern 
Biblical geographers are not agreed as to its location. Josephus 
speaks of a village named Kepharnome, and of a spring called Ka- 
pharnaum ; and the forgers may have confused the two. 

Ch. i. 29-31 

29 And directly when he had come out of the synagogue he 
came into the house of Simon and Andreas, with Iakdbos and 
Ioannes. 30 Now, Simon's mother-in-law was laid up with a 
fever, and immediately they tell him about her. 31 And having 
come to [her], he grasped her hand and raised her up; and im- 
mediately the fever left her, and she served up [a dinner] to 
them. 

COMMENTARY 

Although Simon's mother-in-law, her illness, instantaneous cure, 
and generous hospitality are placed on record with the utmost brev- 
ity, the sanctimonious vandals who mutilated the text carefully 
saved her motherly soul from the disgrace of having a fallen woman 
intrude at the dinner : for very properly, from their strictly moral 
point of view, they have transferred that disagreeable incident to 
the dinner given at "the house of Simon the leper," in Chapter xiv. 
3-9. The sanctity of Simon and the respectability of his mother-in- 
law had to be preserved ; but the forgers would have covered their 
tracks better if they had given the "leper" some other name than 
that of Simon. Only a few lines further on in the text (verse 40) 
a leper begs to be cleansed ; and this evidently suggested the leprous 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 487 

disguise for the pseudo-Simon. The crude mental processes of the 
forgers left their traces everywhere through the text. 

Ch. 1. 32-39 

32 Now, of an evening, when the sun had set, they used to 
bring to him all who were ill, and those spirit-possessed. 33 
And the whole city would be gathered together at the door. 
34 And he healed many who were afflicted with various dis- 
eases, and cast out many spirits. And he did not permit the 
spirits to speak, because they knew him [[to be the Anointed]]. 

35 And very early, while yet 't was night, having risen up, 
he went out, and went away into a desert place, and was there 
praying. 36 And Simon and those with him hunted him out; 
37 and having found him, they say to him : 

"All are seeking you." 

38 And he says to them : 

"Let us go elsewhere, into the adjoining country villages, that I 
may proclaim [the good tidings] there also; for I have come forth 
for this." 

39 And he went proclaiming [the good tidings] in their syna- 
gogues throughout Galilee, and casting out spirits. 

COMMENTARY 

The casting out of spirits is made out to be almost as important 
a part of the mission of Iesous as the proclaiming of his "good tid- 
ings." The interpolators have not been sparing of "spirits," but 
have sprinkled them so generously in the text, along with "various 
diseases," as to convey the impression that the Jews were an un- 
healthy people, a very great number of whom were preyed upon by 
the foul shades of the dead. Yet Tacitus wrote that the Jews had 
healthy bodies, such as would endure heavy toil. The unclean 
ghosts, the psychic remnants of dead persons, are said to have 
recognized Iesous as the Messiah, but Iesous suppressed their testi- 
mony; yet if they had the spiritual wisdom thus ascribed to them 
it would seem that their testimony should have been received as of 
some value. 



488 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Ch. I. 40-45 

40 And a leper comes to him, entreating him and kneeling down 
to him, saying to him : 

"If you are willing, you can purify me." 

41 And his heart being stirred, he stretched out his hand and 
touched him, and says to him : 

"I am willing; be purified." 

42 And [[when he had spoken]] immediately the leprosy went 
out of him, and he was purified. 43 And he enjoined him threat- 
eningly, and immediately sent him out, 44 and says to him : 

"See that you say nothing to any one; but go show yourself to 
the priest, and on account of your purification make the contribu- 
tions which Moses commanded, for evidence to them." 

45 But he, having gone out, began to proclaim [it] much, and 
to make his story known, so that he could no longer openly enter 
into the city, but stayed outside in desert places, and they kept com- 
ing to him from every quarter. 

COMMENTARY 

Unlike the obedient unclean spirits, the man from whom the 
leprosy "went out" disregards the strict injunction of Iesous, and 
by his talkativeness brings another host of possessed and diseased 
Jews upon Iesous, who was already working overtime casting out 
spirits and performing cures. Even when he flees to the desert he 
is kept busy. The actual statement in verse 45 is that the man 
healed of the leprosy had to withdraw from the city to desert places, 
where the people kept coming to him; but this, of course, is only 
an error due to the interpolator's lack of practice in literary work. 

Chapter ii. 1-12 

1 And after [some] days he entered into Kapernaum again, and 
it was heard he is in the house. 2 And [[immediately]] many 
were gathered together, so that there was no longer any room 
even at the door; and he was telling them of the arcane doc- 
trine. 3 And [certain men] come, bringing to him a paralytic, 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 489 

borne by four. 4 And not being able to bring [the man] near to 
him, on account of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where 
he was, and having broken it up, they let down the pallet where- 
[on] the paralytic was lying. 5 And Iesous, seeing their 
faith, says to the paralytic : 

"Child, your sins are remitted [ [to you] ]." 

6 Now, there were some of the scribes sitting there and de- 
bating in their hearts : 

7 "Why does this [man] talk thus? He is defaming [God] ! 
Who except one — God — can remit sins?" 

8 And immediately Iesous, having discerned by his intuitive 
mind that they are thus arguing among themselves, says to 
them: 

"Why are you arguing these things in your hearts? 9 Which 
is easier, to say to this paralytic, 'Your sins are remitted,' or to 
say, 'Arise, take up your pallet and walk'? 10 But that you 
may know that the Son of man has authority on earth to remit 
sins," (he says to the paralytic,) 1 1 "I say to you, Arise, take up 
your pallet and go to your house." 

12 And he arose [[immediately]] and took up the pallet and 
went out in presence of them all; so that all were astonished and 
glorified God, saying: 

"Never have we seen [a cure performed] thus !" 

COMMENTARY 

Allegorically, the "house" here is Aries, which is the house of 
Iesous and also of Ioudas. According to the "historicized" text, 
the "house" was in Kapernaum ; but no city of that name is known 
to geography, and it certainly has no place in the starry heavens. 

Ch. 11. 13-22 

13 And he went out again beside the sea; and all the crowd 
came to him, and he taught them. 14 And passing on, he saw 
Leui, the [son] of Alphaios, sitting at the custom-house, and 
says to him : 

"Follow me." 



490 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

And he arose and followed him. 15 And it befell that as he 
reclined [at table] in his house many tax-collectors and immoral 
men were reclining at table with Iesous and his disciples; for 
they were many, and they went along with him. 16 And the 
scribes and the Pharisees, when they saw him eating with the 
tax-collectors and immoral men, said to his disciples: 

"Why does he eat [[and drink]] with tax-collectors and 
immoral men?" 

17 And Iesous, when he heard [this], says to them: 
"They who are in health have no need of a physician, but 

they who are ill. I did not come to call the virtuous, but the 
immoral, to reform." 

18 And the disciples of Ioannes and the [disciples] of the 
Pharisees practise fasting; and they come and say to him: 

"Why do the disciples of Ioannes and the [disciples] of the 
Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?" 

19 And Iesous said to them: 

"Can the sons of the bridechamber fast while the bridegroom 
is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them 
they can not fast. 20 But days will come when the bridegroom 
will have been taken away from them, and then they will fast 
in those days. 21 No one sews a piece of uncarded cloth on an 
old garment, else the patch made from it tears away the new 
from the old, and a worse rent results. 22 And no one puts 
fresh wine into old wineskins, else the fresh wine bursts the 
wineskins, and the wine is wasted, also the wineskins; [[but 
[they put] fresh wine into new wineskins]]." 

COMMENTARY 

In place of "Leui" some manuscripts have "Iakobos." Originally 
it probably was "Ioudas," and the information that he was a tax- 
gatherer was contributed by a "historian" who wished to make the 
"traitor" appear more odious. A later "historian" erased the name 
"Ioudas" and wrote in "Iakobos the son of Alphaios," to conceal 
the fact that Ioudas was the fifth disciple called; and lastly a con- 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 491 

scientious redactor changed "Iakobos" to "Leui," to accord with 
Luke. Thus the fictitious Leui, substituted for Ioudas, became a 
tax-gatherer and son of Alphaios. 

The Pharisees were a sect or school of orthodox Jews ; and Jo- 
sephus, the Jewish historian, gives a far more flattering picture 
of them than that which is painted in the Synoptics. 

Ch. 11. 23-28 

23 And it befell that he was passing along through the grain- 
fields on the sabbath ; and his disciples began to make a path, pluck- 
ing the ears. 24 And the Pharisees said to him : 

"Look ! Why are they doing on the sabbath what is not lawful ?" 

25 And he says to them : 

"Have you never read what David did when he was in want and 
was hungry — he and those with him — 26 how he entered into 
God's house, in [the days of the] high-priest Abiathar, and ate the 
loaves of the display-offering, which it is not lawful to eat except 
for the priests, and gave also to those who were with him?" 

27 And he said to them : 

"The sabbath originated on. account of man, and not man on ac- 
count of the sabbath; 28 so that the Son of man is master also of 
the sabbath." 

COMMENTARY 

As here depicted by the forgers, Iesous is a poor reasoner, whose 
memory sometimes played him false. David did not enter the sanc- 
tuary and eat the consecrated bread ; he went to the high-priest, who 
was Ahimelech and not Abiathar, and asked for bread, and his 
friend Ahimelech gave him the hallowed bread because he had noth- 
ing else on hand. Conceding, however, that David violated the law' 
by eating the bread, the fact that he committed the offence would 
not justify the disciples of Iesous in defying another law by dese- 
crating the sabbath. The men in both cases were hungry, and 
"necessity knows no law" ; but this defence is not offered by Iesous, 
whose reasoning, if such it may be called, is illogical, while the 
conclusion he reaches is strained and even clownish. The real 



492 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

offence of the disciples in trampling a path through the grain-fields 
is lost sight of in the discussion. 

Chapter hi. i-6 

i And he entered again into the synagogue. And there was a 
man there who had his hand withered. 2 And they were watching 
him, so that if he should heal him on the sabbath, they might prefer 
charges against him. 3 And he says to the. man having the with- 
ered hand : 

"Arise [and stand] in the midst." 

4 And to them he says : 

"Is it lawful to do right or to do wrong on the sabbath day, to 
save a [man's] life or to kill [him] ?" 

But they were silent. 5 And having surveyed them with indig- 
nation, feeling pained at the hardness of their hearts, he says to 
the man : 

"Stretch out your hand." 

And he stretched it out, and [ [his hand] ] was restored sound, 
like the other. 6 And the Pharisees went out and immediately 
consulted with the Herodians, how they might destroy him. 

COMMENTARY 

Realizing, no doubt, that in his defence of his disciples Iesous 
had not presented a very convincing argument in favor of a less 
strict observance of the sabbath, the interpolators have tried to 
bolster it up by having Iesous adopt the Socratic method, empha- 
sizing his deductions by a miraculous feat of healing. But the 
miracle is plagiarized from Tacitus, and the argument advanced by 
Iesous is mere casuistry. All secular business was supposed to be 
suspended, as far as possible, on the sabbath. To "do wrong," as 
to kill a man, was unlawful at all times. Healing a withered hand 
was not saving a life; and the miracle could have been postponed 
to a secular day. In attempting to employ the Socratic method, the 
forgers have succeeded only in exhibiting the peculiarly illogical 
working of the theological mind. Besides, the Pharisees, judging 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 493 

by the character given them by Josephus, would undoubtedly have 
approved of the cure wrought on the sabbath. 

The sabbath of the Jews was, and still is, Saturday, the day of 
Saturn ; the day of the Sun was appointed for Christian observance 
by that Christian ex-sun-worshipper, the Emperor Constantine. 
These "holy" days had their origin in astrology; and, so far as 
Christianity is concerned, the "holy sabbath" is only a vulgar super- 
stition. In Europe, during the middle ages, "sabbath" was used for 
Saturday; and not till 1554 did it become svnonvmous with 
"Sunday." 

Two of the miraculous cures performed by Iesous, the healing of 
the man with the withered hand and the restoration of a blind man's 
sight by anointing his eyes with saliva, have a most suspicious 
resemblance to the two cures performed by the Roman Caesar Ves- 
pasian, as recorded by Tacitus (History, B. v. ch. x), who is con- 
firmed by Suetonius (Vespasian, sec. 7) and Dio Cassius (History. 
p. 217) ; and as it is plainly evident that the Synoptic forgers con- 
sulted the writings of Josephus and of Tacitus, from which they 
obtained many suggestions, it may be regarded as a certainty that in 
this instance the things which are Caesar's have been fraudulently 
rendered to the anthropomorphized Sun-God. Tacitus relates that 
while Vespasian was delayed at Alexandreia, waiting for settled 
weather at sea (the Caesar, it would seem, not having the magic 
power of Iesous to still the storms), many miraculous events hap- 
pened, by the good-will of Heaven and the favor of God. A well- 
known blind man, prompted by the national God Serapis, begged 
the Caesar to put some of his saliva upon his sightless eyes and cure 
him of his blindness. Another man, with a withered hand, also 
prayed the Caesar, by the same God's suggestion, to heal him. Ves- 
pasian at first only laughed at them ; but as they continued to urge 
him, he obtained the opinion of the physicians, who told him, though 
uncertainly, that in the one case the visual organs were not utterly 
destroyed, and that sight might be restored if the obstacles were 
removed ; and that, in the other case, the limb was disordered, but 
capable of being made whole if a healing virtue were made use of. 
They also suggested that it might be that the Gods were willing, 



494 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

and that the Emperor was chosen by divine interposition; if the 
cures succeeded, the Caesar would have the glory, but if not, the 
infirm men only would be laughed at. Vespasian, thus inspired 
with confidence, did what the infirm men desired of him, in the 
sight of an expectant multitude, whereupon "the lame hand was 
restored, and the blind man saw immediately." "Both these cures," 
Tacitus adds, "are related to this day by those who were present 
and when speaking falsely will get no reward." 

The "Herodians," with whom the Pharisees consulted, were a 
Jewish sect concerning whom history is mysteriously silent. Pre- 
sumably they are one of the many inventions of the forgers. 

Ch. hi. 7-12 

7 And Iesous withdrew with his disciples to the sea, and a large 
throng went along after him; 8 and from Jerusalem, and from 
Idumsea, and beyond the Jordan, and around Tyre and Sidon, a large 
throng, having heard how many things he was doing, came to him. 

9 And he spoke to his disciples, that a boat should be constantly near 
to him because of the crowd, lest they might press hard upon him ; 

10 for he had healed many, so that as many as had scourges threw 
themselves upon him that they might touch him. 11 And the un- 
clean spirits, whenever they beheld him, would fall down before 
him and scream, saying : 

"The son of God art thou!" 

12 And he would enjoin them much, that they should not make 
him manifest. 

COMMENTARY 

As here represented, Iesous could control the spirits of the dead, 
but could not preserve order among his living followers : he had 
to have a boat in constant readiness for fear the great multitude of 
diseased people would crowd him off the land and into the sea ! It 
would seem that he could perform astounding miracles by whole- 
sale without any risk of betraying the fact that he was "the son of 
God," save from the unclean spirits, who alone discerned his God- 
hood and desired to proclaim it. Why the impure spirits should 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 495 

have so great wisdom is a profound mystery; nor is it quite clear 
how his enjoining them to secrecy would be of any avail after they 
had already screamed out in public, before "great crowds," that he 
was the son of God. 

Ch. hi. 13-19 
13 And he goes up into the mountain, and calls to him whom 
he would; and they went to him. 14 And he appointed twelve, 
that they might be with him, and that he might send them out 
to proclaim [the good tidings], 15 and to have authority to 
heal diseases, and to cast out spirits. 16 And on Simon he 
imposed the name Petros; 17 and Iakobos the [son] of Zebe- 
daios, and Ioannes the brother of Iakobos, and on them he im- 
posed the name Boanerges, that is, "Sons of Thunder"; 18 
and Andreas, and Philippos, and Ptolemaios Junior, and Mat- 
thias, and Thomas, and Iakobos the [son] of Alphaios, and 
Thaddaios, and Simon the native of Kana, 19 and^ Ioudas 
Iskariotes, who also handed him over. 

COMMENTARY 

This passage, ending in the middle of verse 19, as above, should 
be followed, without a break, by the matter beginning at vi. 7. The 
manuscript has been severed by the interpolator in the middle of this 
verse 19, and several pages of irrelevant matter, composed partly of 
forgeries and partly of passages that belong elsewhere in the text, 
have been inserted. That this was done with the intention of 
eliminating the seventy-two disciples becomes evident when a com- 
parison is made with the text of Luke. The twelve disciples who 
remain with Iesous (the Sun) are the zodiacal constellations. The 
seventy-two disciples who are "sent out," the extra-zodiacal con- 
stellations, have been expunged from the text of Mark and Mat- 
thew, and all that relates to them has been ascribed to the twelve. 
Thus, while Luke (x. 1) correctly has the seventy-two sent out 
"two by two," in Mark vi. 7 it is the twelve who are sent out 
"two by two." The cause of this discrepancy is easily discovered : 
the reference in Luke to the seventy-two is contained in the so- 
called periscope, which consists of new matter inserted by the com- 



496 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

piler of that Gospel; but the compiler innocently inserted as "new" 
matter the very passage, unchanged, which in Mark and Matthew 
had been mutilated by fraudulently eliminating the seventy-two dis- 
ciples ! 

Ioudas is placed last in the list, being degraded for his supposed 
treachery; and the mythical Simon, having been chosen to be the 
founder of the Roman hierarchy, is proudly given first place, and is 
identified, by bestowing upon him the surname "Petros," with 
Kephas, who was, according to Paulos, a coward and a hypocrite. 
"Levi, the son of Alphaios," who in ii. 4 ousted Ioudas, is not 
named among the twelve; but there is a "son of Alphaios" called 
Iakobos, and Matthias is also named. 

Ch. hi. 19-30 

And he comes into a house ; 20 and a crowd comes together 
again, so that they are unable even to eat bread. 2 1 And when they 
heard of [it], his relatives went out to restrain him; for they said: 

"He is out of his wits." 

22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said : 
"He 's possessed by Beelzeboul," and, "He 's casting out 

ghosts by the king of the ghosts." 

23 And he called them to [him] and said to them in alle- 
gories : 

"How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 And if a kingdom is 
divided against itself, that kingdom can not stand; 25 and if 
a house is divided against itself, that house can not stand. 26 
And Satan can not stand, but is done for, if he has risen up 
against himself and is divided. 27 But no one can enter the 
strong man's house and plunder him of his domestic gear unless 
he first binds the strong man ; and then he will pillage his house. 
28 Amen, I say to you, All sins shall be forgiven the sons of 
men, and whatever calumnies they may perpetrate; 29 but 
whoever shall calumniate the sacred Air shall not be forgiven 
throughout the aeon, but is subject to the penalty of an aeonian 
sin." 

30 (Because they said, "He 's possessed by an unclean spirit") 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 497 

COMMENTARY 

Having escaped the peril of being pushed into the sea, Iesous 
now finds it impossible "even to eat bread" because of the impor- 
tunate crowd, although he has sought shelter in a house; and it 
appears that most of those who pursue him are possessed by unclean 
spirits. 

The scribes displayed their learning by referring to Beelzeboul 
(or Beelzeboub), but they neglected to state who he is, and mod- 
ern scholarship has been unable to find any light on the subject. 
Some theologians fancy that he is the same as Satan, while others 
incline to the opinion that he was a hobgoblin having an indi- 
viduality of his own. But, as he is king (archon) of the shades, he 
must be Plouton and no one else. But in a Jewish "history" the 
Stygian King had to disguise his nationality under a barbaric name 
invented for him by the "historian." The latter, however, must 
have been wandering in his mind when he dragged in the reference 
to the "strong man," who is utterly out of place here. 

The daimonia, ignorantly translated "devils" in the authorized 
version, and slightly softened into "demons" by the revisers, are 
correctly said by Josephus {Wars, vii. 6. 3) to be "no other than the 
spirits of the wicked, that enter into men who are alive." They are 
the same as the "unclean spirits" ; and in this translation they will 
be termed "ghosts." In the old version hagion pneuma is construed 
"Holy Ghost," the latter word retaining its original meaning of 
"breath" or "spirit," being derived from the Anglo-Saxon gast. In 
the spurious portions of the Gospels the "angels" (who are simply 
the "pagan" Gods) and the "ghosts" are both very much in evi- 
dence; but in the genuine portions of the text they are spoken of 
but a few times. 

The "unpardonable sin," which for centuries has adorned the 
theological chamber of horrors, is but the echo of an occult doctrine 
relating to the psychic abuse of the procreative function. As here 
interpolated into the text, it is wholly irrelevant. 

It should be noted that the altercation between Iesous and the 
scribes is dislocated, being clumsily woven into the absurd story 



498 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

about the relatives of Iesous trying to put him under restraint be- 
cause they believed him to be demented. 

Ch. hi. 31-35 

31 And his brothers and his mother came, and standing outside 
they sent to him, summoning him. 32 And a crowd sat around 
him, and they say to him : 

"Look, your mother and your brothers [[and your sisters]] out- 
side are seeking you." 

33 And in answer to them he says : 
"Who is my mother and my brothers ?" 

34 And gazing around at those who are sitting in a circle about 
him, he says : 

"Behold my mother and my brothers! 35 [[For]] he is my 
brother, sister and mother who does the will of God." 

COMMENTARY 

The relatives of Iesous, who are seeking to restrain him because 
they think that he is not in his right mind, prove to be his mother 
and his brothers (and, according to a belated historian, his sisters). 
The delusion of Mariam and the brothers of Iesous (who are in 
fact his five chief disciples) contrasts painfully with the lucid per- 
ception of the unclean spirits, who instantly recognized Iesous as 
the son of God. To Iesous, thirty years of age and the centre of 
admiring throngs, this misguided solicitude of his mother and his 
brothers, expressed so publicly, must have been extremely embar- 
rassing; but his chagrin would hardly justify his harsh repudiation 
of his well-meaning but tactless relatives. He who thus repudiates 
the mother who bore him is far indeed from doing the will of God. 
And he who loves humanity regards all men, both good and bad, 
as his brothers. The sentiment placed in the mouth of the pseudo- 
Iesous is ignoble. 

Chapter iv. 1-9 

1 And again he began to teach beside the sea. And a very 
large crowd came together to him, so that he entered into the 
ship and seated himself in the sea; and all the crowd were on 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 499 

the land close to the sea. 2 And he taught them many things 
in allegories, and in his teaching said to them: 

3 "Hear ye! Behold, the sower went out to sow: 4 and it 
befell that as he sowed some [of the seed] fell beside the road, 
and the birds came and ate it up; 5 and other fell on the 
rocky [places], where it had not much soil, and immediately it 
sprang up, because it had no depth of soil, 6 and when the 
sun had risen it was scorched; and because it had no root, it 
withered away. 7 And other fell among the thorns, and the 
thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. 8 And 
other fell into the good soil, and yielded fruit, springing up and 
growing, and bore, one thirty, another sixty, and another a 
hundredfold." 9 And he said, "He who has ears to hear, let 
him hear, [[and who has understanding, let him understand]]." 

COMMENTARY 

Of the "many things" Iesous is said to have taught the multitude 
on this occasion, only the allegory of the sower is given; and it is 
brought in abruptly, with no introduction, and nothing to indicate 
to the hearers that it is an allegory. 

Ch. iv. 10-20 

10 And when he happened to be alone, the men about him, 
with the twelve, asked him about the allegory. 1 1 And he said 
to them : 

"It has been permitted you to know the mystery of the king- 
dom of God ; but to the exotericists the whole subject is couched 
in allegories, 12 that 

'Seeing, they may see, and yet not have insight, 

And hearing, they may hear, and yet not understand, 

Lest ever they should be made to repent, and their sins be 
forgiven/ " 

13 And says he to them : 

"Do you not see into this allegory? And how will you under- 
stand all the allegories? 14 The sower sows the arcane doctrine. 
15 And these are the [seeds] beside the road, where the arcane 



500 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

doctrine is sown; and when they hear, immediately comes the 
Adversary and takes away the arcane doctrine that has been sown in 
their hearts. 16 And these are, in like manner, the [seeds] sown 
in the rocky [places], who, when they hear the arcane doctrine, 
immediately with joy receive it ; 17 and they have no root in them- 
selves, but are transient ; then, when because of the arcane doctrine 
an ordeal or a persecution befalls, immediately they are tripped up. 
18 And others are the [seeds] sown among the thorns; these are 
the ones who hear the arcane doctrine, 19 and the cares of this 
life, and the delusion of wealth, and the longing for other things, 
entering in, choke the arcane doctrine, and it becomes unfruitful. 
20 And those are the [seeds] which have been sown on good soil; 
such hear the arcane doctrine and accept it, and bear fruit, thirty, 
sixty and a hundredfold.", 

COMMENTARY 

Here Iesous speaks of the exotericists, "those outside" ; and 
presumably "those around him, with the twelve," were esotericists, 
as they were privileged to hear him elucidate the allegory. But 
when the pseudo-Iesous of the forgers asserts that the truth is con- 
cealed from men for fear that they may repent and be forgiven he 
is uttering nonsense; and he misquotes and falsifies the Jewish 
scriptures. The passage in Isaiah (vi. 9) from which the quotation 
is taken reads: "Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye, 
but perceive not . . . lest they . . . turn again, and be healed." 

Christianity, unlike the older religions, had no esotericism, or 
sacred science; it was framed by exoteric priests to impose upon the 
rabble, and is, at best, but a chaos of futile speculations and irra- 
tional dogmas. That even its originators, the charlatans who com- 
piled the Gospels, were ignorant of the inner meaning of the 
allegories contained in the Iesous-mythos which they "historicized," 
is shown by their exegesis of the allegory of the sower. The ex- 
planation, which they have impudently placed in the mouth of 
Iesous, is a bit of muddled theology, and it does not touch upon the 
esoteric meaning. The pseudo-exegetist neglects to state who the 
sower is, but explains that the sower sows the doctrine, and that 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 501 

the seeds sown are the hearers. Thus the seeds (the doctrine) are 
sown in the seeds (the hearers), which is certainly a curious inter- 
pretation ! The predacious birds are Satan, who does not devour 
the doctrine, but takes it away from the hearers by the wayside ; 
and necessarily the roadside, the rocky places, the thorns and the 
good soil are to be regarded as being in the hearts of the hearers — 
who are the seeds ! The hearers who are sown on the rocky places 
stumble because they have no root in themselves. The interpreta- 
tion bristles with absurdities. 

Ch. iv. 21-25 

2 1 And he said to them : 

"Is the lamp brought that it may be put under the grain- 
measure, or under the bed, not that it may be put on the lamp- 
stand? 22 For nothing is really concealed unless it has an il- 
lusory seeming, nor has any [arcane doctrine] been presented 
obscurely, but that it should become evident. 23 If any one has 
ears to hear, let him hear." 

24 And he said to them : 

"Consider what you hear : by the rule which you use in meas- 
uring will [truth] be measured to you; and to you who hear, 
further [truth] will be added: 25 for [truth] shall be given to 
him who has it, but even that which he has shall be taken away 
from him who does not [really] have it." 

COMMENTARY 

The sense of verse 22 apparently depends upon a play on the 
dual meaning of phaneros, "known," and "only apparent," or 
"seeming." The phenomena of life veil or conceal realities; and 
the object in stating truths in allegories is to train the disciple to 
exercise the intuitive faculty, so as to discern profound truths and 
subjective realities. However, the words may be taken in the same 
sense as in Luke viii. 17 — in which case the statement is merely an 
absurdity. 

The beautiful aphorism concerning the measure of truth is cor- 
rectly stated, though the mutilators of the text have here, as in 



502 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

other instances, expunged the word "truth," or "knowledge" ; but 
in Matthew and Luke the saying is garbled and misapplied. Its 
meaning hinges upon reincarnation : intuitive knowledge is perma- 
nent, while false learning is lost between incarnations. 

Ch. iv. 26-32 

26 And he said : 

"Thus is the kingdom of God : it is as if a man should scatter 
seed broadcast on the earth; 27 and should sleep and rise, 
night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow up, he 
knows not how. 28 For the earth bears fruit spontaneously, 
first the blade, then the ear, and then the plump grain on the ear; 
29 and when the fruit presents itself immediately 'he puts forth the 
sickle, for the harvest has come! " 

30 And he said : 

"How shall we draw a comparison of the kingdom of God, 
and in what allegory shall we exemplify it? 31 It is like a grain 
of mustard seed, which, when it has been sown upon the earth, 
is the smallest of all the seeds which are on the earth ; 32 but 
when it has been sown it springs up and becomes greater than 
all the herbs, and spreads out great branches, 'so that the birds of 
the sky' can 'take shelter under its shadow/ " 

COMMENTARY 

The statement in verses 26 and 27 is an introduction to the al- 
legory of the sower; but, as it does not harmonize with the at- 
tempted explanation of the allegory, the astute forger severed it 
from its context, and essayed a separate explanation of it. His 
assertion that "the earth is spontaneous" (automate) in producing 
plant-life is erroneous, as are also his exaggerated statements about 
the mustard seed being the smallest of all seeds, and about the 
prodigious growth of the plant. As it is extremely unlikely that 
these foolish misstatements could have been made by the original 
author of the superb allegory, they must be attributed to the ig- 
norant priests who have smothered the text with their execrable 
efforts at literature. 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 503 

Ch. IV. 33-41 

33 And he used to divulge to them the arcane teaching with 
many such allegories, according as they were able to hear it; 34 
but other than by allegory he did not divulge it to them; yet pri- 
vately he used to disclose all things to his disciples. 

35 And on that day, when evening came, he says to them: 
"Let us go over to the other side." 

36 And having dismissed the crowd, they take him with 
them, just as he was, in the ship; and other [[little]] ships were 
with him. ?>7 And a violent wind-storm arose, and the waves 
dashed against the ship, so that it was already filled. 38 And 
he was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion; and they awaken 
him and say to him : 

"Teacher, does it not concern you that we are perishing ?" 
39 And he awoke and reproved the wind, and said to the sea : 
"Keep quiet; gag yourself!" 

And the wind fell, and there came to be a great calm. 40 And 
he said to them : 

"Why are you cowardly? Do you not yet have faith?" 

41 And they were greatly terrified, and said one to another: 

"Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?" 

COMMENTARY 

Unwittingly, but very noticeably, the forgers have delineated in 
the text their own ignoble traits of character. As pictured by them, 
the disciples of Iesous are unintelligent, cowardly and superstitious. 
The people are likewise stupid, timid and blindly credulous ; yet 
despite their over-credulity they are constantly falling into trans- 
ports of terror and amazement. Even the puppet Pharisees are not 
true to life, though they are the only characters whom the forgers 
could have made realistic; for, to do so, the forgers had only to 
portray themselves, yet they shrank from thus baring their own 
dark souls. In the original pagan drama the disciples no doubt had 
the manly virtues ; but in the falsified text they are seen through the 
eyes of the despicable forgers, who were incapable of picturing true 



504 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

manliness. Here they represent the disciples as being cowardly 
through lack of "faith," as if courage depended upon credulity. 

The statement in verse 36 that "other ships were with him" is 
omitted by Matthezv and Luke. Either these other ships would 
have foundered, or if they had weathered the storm would have 
shown that the miracle performed by Iesous was needless. 

Chapter v. 1-21 

1 And to the other side of the sea they came, to the country 
of the Gerasenes. 2 And when he had come out of the ship, 
immediately there met him out of the tombs a man [possessed] 
by an unclean spirit, 3 who had his dwelling among the tombs ; 
and not even with chains was any one able to bind him : 4 be- 
cause he had often been bound with chains and fetters, and the 
chains had been burst by him, and the fetters shattered; and 
no one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 And always, night 
and day, among the tombs and in the mountains he was scream- 
ing and gashing himself with stones. 6 And when he saw 
Iesous from afar, he ran and prostrated himself before him; 
7 and screaming with a loud voice he said : 

"What matters it to you and to me, Iesous, son of the highest 
God? By that God I adjure you not to torment me." 8 (For he 
w^as saying to him, "Unclean spirit, come forth out of the 
man.") 

9 And he asked him : 
"What is your name?" 
And he answered, saying : 

"My name is Legion; for we are many." 

10 And they kept imploring him much that he would not 
send them away out of that rural region. 1 1 Now, there was 
there, hard by the mountain, a great herd of swine feeding; 
12 and they implored him, saying: 

"Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them." 
1 3 And Iesous permitted them ; and the unclean spirits came 
out of [the man] and entered into the swine, and the herd, 
[numbering] about two thousand, rushed down the precipitous 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 505 

slope into the sea, and were choked in the sea. 14 And the 
herdsmen of the swine fled, and told it in the city and in the 
country. And they came to see what it is that has taken place. 
15 And they come to Iesous, and behold the spirit-possessed 
man sitting clothed and restored to his senses, the [very man] 
who had harbored the legion; and they were afraid. 16 And 
the spectators narrated to them how it had befallen the spirit- 
possessed man, and concerning the swine. 17 And they began 
to implore him to depart from their borders. 18 And when he 
was entering the ship, the man who had been spirit-possessed 
implored him that he might be with him; 19 but Iesous did 
not permit him, but says to him : 

"Go to your house to your kindred, and tell them all the things 
the Master has done for you, and [how] he pitied you." 

20 And he departed, and began to proclaim in Dekapolis all the 
things Iesous had done for him ; and all men wondered. 

21 And when Iesous had gone across again in the ship to the 
other side, a great crowd congregated to him; and he was beside 
the sea. 

COMMENTARY 

The Gerasenes are given elsewhere in the text as Gergesenes and 
Gadarenes. As they are utterly unknown to history, it is imma- 
terial how the name was spelled. 

The compiler of Mark occasionally lapses into Latin, as here, 
where he uses the word legion, the Latin legio. The word must 
therefore be regarded as a substitute for a term in Greek mythology 
which would be out of place in a Jewish "history." Possibly the 
unclean spirits called themselves panes, "fauns," as they implored 
Iesous not to banish them from the rural region (yoypa). Finding 
no satisfactory Hebraic substitute for pan ("all"), the inspired 
compiler hit upon the Latin legio as conveying the notion of a large 
number. But, whatever they may have called themselves, the spirits 
were simply the shades of the dead. The covert admiration of the 
forgers for these "unclean spirits" again betrays itself : for here, 
as always, Iesous was promptly recognized by the unclean spirits 



506 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

as the son of God. Here the spirits are polytheists : in speaking of 
the ' 'highest God" they imply that there were lower Gods. 

Ch. v. 22-43 

22 And comes to him one of the synagogue-rulers, Iaeiros by 
name, and seeing him, falls at his feet, 23 and implores him 
much, saying : 

"My little daughter is at the point of death ; I [beseech you] 
that you come and lay your hands on her, so that she may be 
cured, and be restored to life." 

24 And he departed with him; and a great crowd went along 
with him, and they jostled him. 25 And a woman who for 
twelve years had an issue of blood, 26 and had undergone 
many [treatments] under many physicians, and was not at all 
benefited but rather grew worse, 27 having heard the [re- 
ports] concerning Iesous, came in the crowd behind and 
touched his mantle. 28 For she kept saying : 

"I shall be cured if I touch but his outer garments." 

29 And immediately the fount of her blood was dried up, and 
she knew in her body that she was healed of her scourge. 30 
And immediately Iesous, perceiving in himself that his exodic 
force had gone forth, turned about in the crowd and said : 

"Who touched my outer garments?" 

31 And his disciples said to him : 

"You see the crowd jostling you, and you say, 'Who touched 
me?'" 

32 And he looked around to see her who had done this. 33 
But the woman, frightened and trembling, knowing what had 
happened to her, came and fell down before him, and told him 
the whole truth. 

34 And he said to her : 

"Daughter, your faith has saved you; go in peace, and be 
healed of your scourge." 

35 While he is yet speaking, they come from the synagogue- 
ruler's house, saying : 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 507 

"Your daughter is dead: why do you still trouble the 
Teacher ?" 

36 But Iesous, disregarding the spoken word, said to the 
synagogue-ruler : 

"Fear not ; only believe." 

37 And he did not permit any one to accompany him except 
Petros, Iakobos and Ioannes, the brother of Iakobos. 38 And 
they come to the house of the synagogue-ruler, and he beholds 
a commotion, [people] weeping and wailing greatly. 39 And 
having entered, he says to them : 

"Why do you make a commotion, and weep? The girl is not 
dead, but is sleeping." 

40 And they laughed at him scornfully. But he, having put 
them all out, takes with him the father of the girl and her 
mother and the [three disciples] who are with him, and goes in 
where the girl was. 41 And having grasped the girl's hand, he 
says to her : 

"Talcitha koam" that is, when translated, "Little girl, I say 
to you, Awake." 

42 And immediately the little girl rose up and walked; for 
she was twelve years old. And they were immediately 
astounded with great amazement. 43 And he charged them 
vehemently that no one should know this; and he said that 
[something] should be given her to eat. 

COMMENTARY 

Had the forgers perceived that these two "miracles" apply alle- 
gorically to the esoteric and the exoteric doctrines, they would have 
exercised their peculiar literary talents in mutilating the story 
beyond recognition. Thanks to their obtuseness, it retains its 
graphic, simplicity. Of course they had to give the story a Jewish 
tinge, and to the ignorant Taleitha koum is certainly very con- 
vincing, even if it is bad Hebrew, or, strictly speaking, not Hebrew 
at all. Incidentally the discredited Ioudas had to be expunged from 
the text, and Simon's name written in. Also the usual thrills of 
amazement had to be mentioned; no conscientious amateur writer 



508 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

of fiction would neglect that, for fear of weakening the dramatic 
effect, or of placing too severe a strain upon the imagination and 
intelligence of the reader. 

According to Mark nearly everything happened "immediately." 
A writer who was recording events that had actually taken place, 
especially if they had fallen under his own observation during a 
protracted period of time, would not be apt to use this expression 
"immediately" so frequently; but an uncultured man, who was writ- 
ing down from memory the quickly moving events in a drama 
which he had been witnessing, would naturally retain the impression 
of rapid action, and therefore employ the word "immediately" con- 
stantly, as it is found in the text. 

Chapter vi. i-6 

i And he departed from there, and comes to his native 
[city] ; and his disciples go along with him. 2 And when it 
was the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue. And the 
many hearers were astounded, saying : 

"From what source does this [man] have these things? And 
what is the learning that has been given him, and [whence 
come] powers such as these that are effected by means of his 
hands? 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mariam, and 
brother of Iakobos, loses, Ioudas and Simon? And are not his 
sisters here with us?" 

And they were offended at him. 4 But Iesous said to them : 

"A seer is not dishonored, save in his native [city], and 
among his kinsfolk and in his own house." 

5 And he was not able to exert any power there, save that he 
laid his hands on a few infirm persons and healed them. 6 And 
he wondered because of their unbelief. And he went about the 
villages in a circuit, teaching. 

COMMENTARY 

The genuineness of this clever little incident may be relied upon 
for two reasons : the forgers had not the ability to invent it, and it 
contains the names (only one of them being disguised and that but 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 509 

slightly) of four of the brothers of Iesous who were also his dis- 
ciples. The names of Andreas (which is purely Greek) and of the 
seven sisters were, no doubt, in the original text ; but of course the 
forgers could not suffer them to remain, for "Andreas" was an 
awkward name to disguise, and apparently there was a mystery 
about the sisters of Iesous which the forgers deemed it prudent not 
to divulge. In Greek mythology seven sisters, the Hesperides, 
guarded the Pole-tree with its golden apples, and groups of seven 
sisters appear in various guises. 

The frank admission that the healing virtue of the Son of God 
was powerless against the un faith of a few ignorant and feeble 
mortals seems to indicate that the originators of the new religion 
had not yet formulated their theology very definitely. 

Ch. vi. 7-13 

7 And he calls to him the twelve, and began to send them 
forth two by two ; and he gave them authority over the unclean 
spirits. 8 And he charged them that they should take nothing 
for the road except a staff only, no provision-bag, no bread, no 
money in their belt; 9 but [to be] shod with sandals, and put 
not on two tunics. 10 And said he to them: 

"Wherever you enter into a house, stay there until you de- 
part thence. 1 1 And whatever place will not receive you, and 
[its residents] will not listen to you, as you depart from there 
shake off the dust which is under your feet, for a testimony to 
them. [[Amen, I say to you, It shall be more endurable for 
Sodom and Gomorrah in the dav of judgment than for that 
city.]]" 

12 And they went out and proclaimed that [the people] should 
reform. 13 And they cast out many spirits, and anointed with oil 
many infirm persons, and cured them. 

COMMENTARY 

In this passage "the twelve" have been fraudulently substituted 
for the seventy-two ; and the passage has been severed from the first 
half of verse 19, ch. iii. Here and elsewhere the forgers have at- 



510 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

tempted to conceal the fact that the thirty-six couples (sysygies) 
are Mercury- Venuses ; but they have left sufficient evidence in the 
text to show it quite clearly. Iesous, after sending out his seventy- 
two paired messengers, goes on a picnic with his twelve com- 
panions; but, as the seventy-two have been eliminated from Mark, 
the twelve have to be sent out in their stead, and so the outing has 
to be postponed until their return. The gap left in the narrative by 
this unskilful device was left unfilled, but while waiting for the re- 
turn of "the twelve," whom he had thus surreptitiously sent out, 
the "historian" busied himself with writing an implausible fiction 
about the beheading of Ioannes the Lustrator, which serves to dis- 
tract the attention of the reader until the missent twelve return for 
the picnic. 

Ch. vi. 14-29 

14 And King Herod heard [of Iesous the Healer] ; for his name 
had become famous, and they were saying, "Ioannes the Lustrator 
is risen from the dead, and because of this the forces energize in 
him." 15 But others said, "It is Elijah." And others said, "[[It 
is]] a seer [who has reincarnated, and he is] like one of the seers 
[of old]." 16 But Herod, when he heard [of him], said: 

"Ioannes, whom I beheaded, he is risen." 

17 For Herod himself had sent out [retainers] and had seized 
Ioannes, and bound him in prison, on account of Herodias, his 
brother Philip's wife, because he had married her. 18 For Ioannes 
said to Herod : 

"It is unlawful for you to marry your brother's wife." 

19 And Herodias kept cherishing a grudge against him, and 
wished to kill him; but she could not. 20 For Herod feared 
Ioannes, knowing him to be a just and holy man, and protected 
him ; and when he heard him he wavered and listened to him gladly. 
21 And when it happened to be an opportune day, when Herod on 
his birthday made a dinner to his field-marshals, generals and first- 
fighters of Galilee, 22 and the. daughter of Herodias herself had 
come in, and had danced and pleased Herod and those who reclined 
[at table] with him, the king said to the little girl : 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 511 

"Ask of me anything you wish, and I shall give it to you." 

23 And he swore to her : 

"I shall give you whatever you may ask of me, even to the half 
of my kingdom." 

24 And she went out and said to her mother : 
"What shall I ask?" 

And she said : 

"The head of Ioannes the Lustrator." 

25 And immediately she came in haste to the king and asked, 
saying : 

"I wish that you givt me at once on a dish the head of Ioannes the 
Lustrator." 

26 And [although] the king was deeply grieved, on account of 
his oaths and of [his guests] reclining with [him at table] he 
would not slight her. 27 And immediately the king sent a guards- 
man and ordered him to bring his head ; and he went and beheaded 
him in the prison, 28 and brought his head on a dish and gave it 
to the little girl, and the little girl gave it to her mother. 29 And 
his disciples, when they heard [of it] , came and took up his corpse 
and laid it in a tomb. 

COMMENTARY 

This doleful tale of the decapitation of the Hierophant of the 
Water-rite begins at the wrong end, lacks every element of plau- 
sibility, contains glaring historical misstatements, and is open to 
the charge of plagiarism; while its peculiarities of wording and 
literary style differentiate it from the main body of the text, and 
show clearly that it is an unskilful forgery. It is wedged into the 
text at a place where a gap was left after expunging the passage 
concerning the seventy-two messengers. Herod, according to this 
absurd story, became intimately acquainted with Ioannes, "listened 
to him gladly," and almost became his disciple; yet not till after he 
had put to death this forerunner whom he held in awe as "a just 
and holy man," did he hear of Iesous. He then rejects the theory 
that Iesous is one of the ancient seers reincarnated, and clings to 
the impossible theory that Ioannes, whose head has been cut off-, 



512 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

has risen from the dead ! The head of Ioannes had been carried 
away on a dish, and given into the safe-keeping of his enemy, 
Herodias, so that his resurrection would be a difficult matter even 
in an age of miracles. Anyway, Herod could easily have obtained 
a description of the personal appearance of Iesous, who was known 
to so many. As to the historical blunders in the story, Herod was 
not a king, but was only a tetrarch; he did not marry his brother 
Philip's wife (whose name was Salome), but the wife of another 
brother, also named Herod; and the three were really only half- 
brothers. In making "King" Herod promise the half of his "king- 
dom" to a young lady who had pleased him at a banquet, the forgers 
have unblushingly stolen and inartistically utilized an incident in 
the story of Esther (vii), in which King Ahasuerus, at a banquet, 
promised Queen Esther, who had found favor in his sight, anything 
she might request, even to the half of his kingdom — with the result 
that Haman was hanged. The reference to Ioannes in Josephus 
(Antiquities, xviii. 5. 2) is unquestionably a forgery, as are also the 
passages mentioning Iesous and his brother Iakobos. The words 
baptistes and baptismos, which belong exclusively to the Greek of 
the New Testament, are used in the forgery concerning Ioannes 
"the Baptist" which is found in the text of Josephus; that fact 
alone sufficiently shows that the passage is spurious. 

Ch. vi. 30-44 

30 And the apostles gathered together to Iesous, and re- 
ported to him all things, whatever they had done and whatever 
they had taught. 31 And he says to them: 

"Come you yourselves apart to a desert place and take a little 
rest." 

For there were many who were coming and going, and they had 
no opportunity even to eat. 32 And they went away in the 
ship to a desert place apart. 33 And the crowds saw them 
going, and many recognized [him] ; and together they ran there 
on foot from all the cities, and outwent them. 34 And he came 
out [of the ship] and saw a great crowd, and his heart went out 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 513 

to them, because they were 'like sheep not having a shepherd" ; 
and he began to teach them many things. 35 And when the 
hour was late, came to him his disciples and said to him : 

"The place is desert, and already the hour is late ; 36 dismiss 
them, that they may go to the country and villages round about, 
and buy for themselves something to eat." 

37 But he answered and said to them : 
"Do you give them [something] to eat." 
And they say to him : 

"Shall we go and buy bread to the value of two hundred 
denarii, and give them to eat?" 

38 And he says to them : 

"How many loaves have you? Go and see." 
And when they had ascertained it, they say: 
"Five, and two fishes." 

39 And he ordered them to make all recline in mess-parties 
on the fresh greensward. 40 And they sat down in mess-par- 
ties, like flower-beds, by hundreds and by fifties. 41 And he 
took the five loaves and the two fishes, and having looked up 
to the sky he blessed the loaves and broke [them] in pieces, and 
gave [them] to his disciples, to set before them; and the two 
fishes he divided among them all. 42 And they all ate and were 
satisfied. 43 And they took up the broken fragments, twelve 
hand-basketfuls, and also of the fishes. 44 And those who ate 
of the loaves were five thousand men. 

COMMENTARY 

The twelve companions of Iesous, who are not "apostles" and 
are not "sent forth," have no report to make; they go with Iesous 
on a picnic. The "apostles" are the thirty-six couples (Mercury- 
Venuses), who report to Iesous upon their return. By comparing 
the text of Mark with that of Luke, the alterations that have been 
made by the unskilful forgers are easily traced. The mess-parties, 
instead of being arranged "by hundreds and by fifties," should con- 
sist of forty-nine parties of one hundred each; and the multitude 
should number forty-nine hundred. The words "also of the fishes" 



514 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

are probably from the pen of a peculiarly dull-witted interpolator 
who has inserted many similar stupid "emendations" in the text. 

Ch. vi. 45"5 6 

45 And immediately he compelled his disciples to enter into the 
ship, and to go before [him] to the other side, to Bethsa'ida, until 
he should send away the crowd. 46 And having taken leave of 
them, he went away to the mountain to pray. 47 And when even- 
ing came, the ship was in the midst of the sea, and he was alone on 
the land. 48 And seeing them harassed in rowing, for the wind 
was contrary to them, about the fourth watch of the night he comes 
to them, walking on the sea, and would have outstripped them; 
49 but they, seeing him walking on the sea, supposed that he was a 
spectre, and raised guttural cries; 50 for they all saw him and 
were thrown into consternation. But immediately he spoke with 
them, and says to them : 

"Take courage : it is I. Fear not." 

5 1 And he got into the ship to them ; and the wind lulled. And 
they were very much amazed in themselves; 52 for they had not 
understood in respect to the loaves, but their heart was callous. 

53 And having crossed over to the land, they reached Gennesaret, 
and came to anchor. 54 And when they had come out of the ship, 
immediately [the people] recognized him, 55 and ran about that 
whole neighboring country, and began to carry about the invalids 
on their litters where they were hearing that he was. 56 And 
whenever he entered into villages, or cities, or fields, they laid those 
who were sickly in the market-places, and implored him that they 
might touch if only the hem of his mantle; and as many as touched 
it were cured. 

COMMENTARY 

From the beginning of this passage, at verse 45, down to viii. 21, 
inclusive, there is nothing but the work of the priest- forgers, who 
have, with amazing lack of originality, padded out the text with 
material copied from other portions of it, but disfigured by mean- 
ingless variations. Nearly all of this spurious matter is slavishly 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 515 

copied in Matthew (xiv. 22 to xvi. 12), but none of it appears in 
Luke. This might indicate that Luke was compiled before, and 
Matthew after, this interpolation was made in the text of Mark; 
or more probably, that the compiler of Luke, who was better edu- 
cated than his predecessors, rejected this duplicate matter as worth- 
less. 

Bethsa'ida, if it ever existed, is supposed to have been on the 
eastern shore of Lake Gennesaret, but here the forgers have placed 
it on the western shore : in fact, they have elsewhere shifted it from 
shore to shore, to suit the exigencies of the narrative. Some 
Biblical scholars admit that the Synoptists have dealt loosely with 
geography by doing this; but others have overcome the "difficulty" 
by creating a second Bethsa'ida, on the pious theory that inspired 
writers could not possibly have erred in even so small a matter. 

This incident is merely a repetition of the one in which Iesous 
stilled the tempest : the forgers have tried to improve upon the orig- 
inal by having Iesous walk upon the waters; but the story loses 
much, and gains nothing, by the addition of this aquatic miracle. 
What connection there might be between this miracle and that of 
multiplying the loaves, the interpolator fails to explain, but con- 
tents himself with saying that the disciples were too obtuse to un- 
derstand it. 

Chapter vii. 1-16 

1 And near him some of the Pharisees and some of the scribes 
were gathered together, who had come from Jerusalem, 2 and had 
seen that some of his disciples are eating their bread with unhal- 
lowed (that is, unwashed) hands. 3 (For the Pharisees and all the 
Judaeans, clinging to the tradition of the ancients, do not eat unless 
they wash their hands with the fist ; 4 and after coming from the 
marketplace they do not eat unless they bathe themselves ; and there 
are many other [observances] which they have traditionally re- 
ceived to hold, baptizings of cups, ewers and copper utensils [[and 
couches]].) 5 And the Pharisees and scribes put to him a ques- 
tion: 



516 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

"Why are your disciples not walking according to the tradition of 
the ancients, but are eating their bread with unwashed hands?" 

6 And he answered and said to them : 

"Well did Isaiah predict concerning you hypocrites, as it is 
written : 

'This people honor me with their lips, 
But far from me is their heart. 

7 But they worship me fruitlessly; 

Setting forth [as their] teachings the injunctions of men/ 
8 Neglecting the commandment of God, you cling to the tradition 
of men, [ [baptizings of ewers and cups, and many other such simi- 
lar things you do] ] ." 

9 And he said to them : 

"You set aside effectually the commandment of God, that you 
may observe your tradition, io For Moses said, 'Honor your 
father and your mother/ and 'Let the reviler of father or mother 
come to his end by the death-penalty. 3 n But you say, 'If a man 
says to his father or his mother, "That by which you might have 
been helped by me is Korean"' (that is, 'a votive offering'), 12 
you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his 
mother, 13 annulling the doctrine of God by your tradition which 
you have handed down; and many such similar things you do." 

14 And having called to him the crowd again, he said to them: 

"Hear me, all of you, and understand : 15 there is nothing from 
outside the man which, entering into him, can befoul him; but the 
[excretions] issuing from the man, these are the things that befoul 
the man. [ [ 16 If any one has ears to hear, let him hear.] ] " 

COMMENTARY 

The forger who wrote this singular screed on the godliness of 
being dirty has applied to it lavishly the pseudo-Jewish local color 
(though he lapses into a Latinism), and has quoted Isaiah (xxix. 
13) loosely and inaccurately. The ceremonial rites of purification 
described in the text amount to no more than the observance of 
decent cleanliness. In defending his unwashed disciples, Iesous 
argues illogically and indulges in an irrelevant tirade against the 



THE GOOD TIDIXGS ACCORDING TO MARK 517 

Pharisees for clinging to a tradition which probably never existed 
outside the imagination of the forger. 

Ch. vii. 17-23' 

17 And when he had gone into a house from the crowd, his dis- 
ciples asked him about the allegory. 18 And he says to them : 

"Are you also so unenlightened? Do you not perceive that every- 
thing which from without enters into the man can not befoul him ; 
19 because it does not enter into his heart, but into his belly, and is 
voided into the privy-vault, cleansing away all the food?" 

20 And he said : 

"What issues from the man, that befouls the man. 21 For from 
within, out of the heart of men, issue wicked reasonings, fornica- 
tions, thefts, murders, adulteries, 22 coverings, rogueries, guile, 
evil eye, slander, haughtiness, folly; 23 all these ignoble things 
issue from within, and befoul the man." 

COMMENTARY 

One is at a losi to say which is the more charming, the "allegory'' 
or the esoteric explanation vouchsafed by the forger, who evidently 
believed not only in the sanctity of dirtiness but also in the holiness 
of eating anything palatable that he could put his unwashed hands 
on. This particular forger appears to have been a Roman who wrote 
Greek badly. The words ascribed to Iesous are coarse to the point 
of vulgarity ; and it will be noticed that among the confused jumble 
of impurities that are said to issue from the heart is the "evil eye." 

Ch. vii. 24-30 

24 And he rose up thence and went away to the boundaries of 
Tyre [[and Sidon]]. And he entered into a house, and wished no 
one to know it ; but he could not escape notice. 25 But immediately 
a woman, whose little daughter was possessed by an unclean spirit, 
having heard about him, came and fell at his feet. 26 Xow, the 
woman was a Greek, a Syrophcenician by race. And she begged that 
he would cast the ghost out of her daughter. 2^ And he said to her : 



518 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

"Allow the children first to be fed ; for it is not right to take the 
children's bread and throw it to the curs." 

28 But she answered and says to him : 

"Yes, Master; even the'curs under the table eat of the children's 

» 

crumbs." 

29 And he said to her : 

"For that response go your way; the ghost has gone out of your 
daughter." 

30 And she went away to her house, and found the little child 
laid on the bed, and the ghost had gone out of [her]. 

COMMENTARY 

It is refreshing to notice occasionally in the text the name of a 
city which, like Tyre, can be discovered on a map, without consult- 
ing a fanciful Bible atlas. But the "historian" who thoughtfully 
added "and Sidon" had been born out of season. But even in that 
large city Iesous, for all his magical powers, was unable to escape 
the notice of the rabble. He could cast out ghosts, but he could not 
conceal himself even in a house. 

In this incident, the forger sympathetically depicts Iesous as a nar- 
row sectarian whose bigotry relaxes a little because of the sickening 
sycophancy of a woman who likens herself to a little dog, a "cur" 
(KvvdpLov) devouring scraps under the table. Commentators with 
a leaning towards a supposedly "mystical interpretation" of their 
scriptures have suggested that the story may be taken as an alle- 
gory, signifying that Iesous spread his spiritual banquet for the Jews 
only, and that the "Gentiles" are the little dogs under the table. This 
would mean that Christendom, for nearly two millenniums, has 
rejoiced over fragments from a feast which the Jews, as a nation, 
declined to partake of. But, in fact, the scraps on which the Chris- 
tians have been fed were stolen from the "pagan" Greeks. 

Ch. vii. 31-37 

31 And again he departed from the boundaries of Tyre, and came 
through Sidon to the Sea of Galilee, through the midst of the bor- 
ders of Dekapolis. 32 And they bring to him a deaf man who 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 519 

stammered, and implore him to lay his hands on him. 33 And he 
took him away from the crowd apart, and put his fingers in his ears, 
and after spitting, he touched his tongue [with the spittle] ; 34 and 
looking up to the sky, he groaned, and says to him : 

"Ephphatha!" (that is, "Be opened!") 

35 And his ears were opened, and the ligament of his tongue 
was loosed, and he talked distinctly. 36 And he charged them that 
they should tell no one; but the more he charged them the more 
extravagantly they proclaimed it. 37 And they were immeasurably 
astounded, saying: 

"Right well has he done all things : alike he causes the deaf to 
hear and the dumb to speak." 

COMMENTARY 

The forger, although a disbeliever in the principles of hygiene, 
was a firm believer in the practices of vulgar magic, or he would 
not have had Iesous employ the ridiculous methods of using spittle, 
touching the affected organs, sky-gazing, groaning, and ejaculating 
barbaric words as magical formulas. The belief in the magical 
efficacy of saliva was common in ancient times ; but probably it was 
not the usual practice to put it in the patient's mouth, as Iesous 
evidently does in this case. 

The astonishment of the spectators is only equalled by their dis- 
obedience of the command of silence imposed on them by Iesous, 
who, though he could cause the deaf to hear and the dumb to speak, 
was unable to silence the garrulous. 

Chapter viii. i-io 

1 In those days there was a great crowd again, and they had 
nothing to eat ; and he called his disciples to him and says to them : 

2 "My heart goes out to the crowd, because they are remaining 
with me now three days, and are not having anything to eat ; 3 and 
if I send them away fasting to their home they will be tired out on 
the road, for some of them have come from afar." 

4 And his disciples answered him : 



520 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

"From what source shall any one be able, here in a desert, to fill 
these people with bread ?" 

5 And he asked them : 

"How many loaves have you?" 

And they said : 

"Seven." 

6 And he directed the crowd to recline on the ground. And he 
took the seven loaves, and after giving thanks, he broke [them] in 
pieces, and gave [them] to his disciples, to set before them ; and they 
set them before the crowd, y Also they had a few little fishes ; and 
after blessing them, he told [his disciples] to set these also before 
them. 8 And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven 
baskets of the left-over fragments. 9 And those [who had eaten] 
were about four thousand; and he sent them away. 10 And imme- 
diately he entered into the ship with his disciples, and came to the 
districts of Dalmanutha. 

COMMENTARY 

This story is only a repetition, with nonsensical changes, of the 
account previously given about the multiplication of the five loaves 
and the two fishes. The forgers were not above plagiarism ; but it 
certainly was audacious to insert this obviously stolen story in 'the 
very work from which it was plagiarized. It is not simply a variant 
of the original allegory; for elsewhere the forger refers to both of 
them, and intimates that each has a meaning of its own. The orig- 
inal allegory is indeed pregnant with meaning; but this one is as 
barren as the infertile brain of the priest- forger who perpetrated it. 
In the genuine allegory Iesous and the twelve, picnicking in a "des- 
ert place," have not sufficient provisions for the self-invited crowd ; 
but in this plagiarism the "great crowd" famish for three days, 
although in a populous region, before Iesous discovers their plight. 

Dalmanutha is called Magadan, or Magdala, in the parallel pas- 
sage in Matthew (xv. 39) ; but the orthodox Biblical scholars, to 
bring the two Gospels into accord, fancy that there may have been 
two villages close together. But whether one village or two villages, 
they belong exclusively to the unreal geography of the Synoptics. 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 521 

Ch. viii. 1 1-2 1 

1 1 And the Pharisees came out and began to make mutual inquiry 
with him, seeking from him a sign from the sky, putting a test to 
him. 12 And he groaned in his spirit and says : 

"Why does this generative-cycle keep seeking a sign? Amen, I 
say to you, [What then'] if a sign shall be given to this generative- 
cycle ?" 

13 And having left them, he entered again into the ship, and 
went away to the other side. 

14 And they forgot to take bread; and except one loaf they did 
not have any with them in the ship. 15 And he charged them, 
saying : 

"Take care, shun the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of 
Herod." 

16 And they argued among themselves, because they had no 
bread. 17 And Iesous was aware of it, and says to them: 

"Why are you arguing among yourselves because you have no 
bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Is your heart 
hardened? 18 'Having eyes, do you not see, and having cars, do 
you not hear?' And do you not remember? 19 When I broke in 
pieces the five loaves [and gave them] to the five thousand, how 
many hand-baskets full of the fragments did you take up?" 

They say to him : 

"Twelve." 

20 "And when the seven [loaves] among the four thousand, how 
many basketfuls of fragments did you take up?" 

And they say to him : 
"Seven." 

21 And he said to them : 
"Do you not yet understand?" 

COMMENTARY 

The Pharisees were reasonable in asking for a sign, and in Mat- 
thew (xii. 40) they are given the sign Cetus, the Whale; but here 
Iesous only groans — as he did when curing the deaf man — and gives 



522 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

an unintelligible answer, which is made even more obscure by a 
lacuna in the text. 

The forger here admits that the story of the multiplication of the 
loaves and fishes has an esoteric meaning ; but it is clear that he him- 
self had not even a clue to it. To cover up his ignorance, he waxes 
mysterious and vague, as if to tax the intelligence of the reader. 
The genuine allegory is really so simple that the disciples would 
have been sadly lacking in intuition had they failed to perceive it ; but 
neither they nor any one else could understand the bogus allegory 
or the arithmetical twaddle here placed in the mouth of the pseudo- 
Iesous. 

Ch. viii. 22-26 

22 And they came to Bethsaida. And they bring a blind man to 
him, and implore him to touch him. 23 And he grasped the blind 
man's hand, and led him outside of the village ? and having spit on 
his eyes, and having laid his hands on him, he asked him : 

"Do you see anything?" 

24 And he looked up and said : 

"I see men; for I see them like trees, walking." 

25 Then he again laid his hands on his eyes, and he gazed intently, 
and [his sight] was restored, and he saw everything distinctly. 26 
And he sent him away to his house saying : 

"Do not enter into the village, [[neither tell it in the village]]." 

COMMENTARY 

Again Iesous is lavish with saliva, which, in these forgeries, seems 
to have been his favorite remedy. This time, however, the cure is 
not an "immediate" one: it is deferred in order to introduce the 
imagery of "trees, walking," which is the only original element in 
this pointless miracle. 

Ch. viii. 27-30 

27 And Iesous went forth, and his disciples, to the villages of 
Csesarea Philippi ; and on the road he asked his disciples, saying to 
them : 

"Who do men sav that I am ?" 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 523 

28 And they told him, saying : 

"[Some say], Ioannes the Lustrator; and others, Elijah; and 
others, One of the prophets." 

29 And he asked them : 

"But who do you say that I am ?" 
Petros answers and says to him : 
"You are the Anointed." 

30 And he strictly enjoined them that they should tell no one 
concerning him. 

COMMENTARY 

To connect the Greek allegorical drama with the Hebrew scrip- 
tures by identifying its principal characters as Old Testament 
worthies was rather a clever conception : Iesous was made out to be 
a reincarnation of King David; Ioannes the Lustrator, of Elijah; 
Simon, of Jonah; and Ioannes, of Jonathan. This literary device 
would readily occur to the Roman Marcus, who may be supposed 
to have read the fanciful account given by Vergil {^Encid, vi. 752 
et seq.) of the shades in Hades who were destined to reincarnate as 
great characters in Rome. But when the inventors of Christianity 
had developed their new plan of salvation, making out Iesous to be 
the only son of God and the sole savior of mankind, this doctrine 
of reincarnation had to be kept in the background, and was eventu- 
ally abandoned. The assertion that Iesous was "the Anointed" 
merely identified him with David, "the Lord's Anointed" ; but later 
the Messianic idea developed as a distinguishing feature of the new 
and wholly exoteric religion. 

Ch. viii. 31-38 

31 And he began to teach them that it is inevitable for the 
Son of man to suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, 
and the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and rise 
[from the dead] after three days. 32 And he explained the 
arcane doctrine frankly. And Petros took him, and began to 
admonish him. 33 But he, turning and looking at his disciples, 
admonished Petros, saying : 



524 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

"Get behind me, Adversary ; for your mind is not centred on 
the things of God, but on the things of men." 

34 And he called to him the crowd with his disciples, and said 
to them : 

"Whoever is willing to come after me, let him utterly deny 
himself, and take up his cross and go along with me. 35 For 
whoever desires to save his soul shall lose it ; but whoever shall 
lose his soul for the sake [[of me and]] of the good tidings, 
shall save it. 36 For what shall it profit a man if he gains the 
whole world and forfeits his own soul? $7 Or what shall a man 
give [as] an exchange for his soul? 38 For whoever, in this adul- 
terous and sinful generative-sphere, may have been ashamed of 
me and of my doctrines, of him the Son of man shall be ashamed 
when he comes in his Father's glory with the holy Divinities." 

Chapter ix. i 

1 And he says to them : 

"Amen, I say to you, There are some bystanders here who shall 
not at all taste of death until they see the kingdom of God when it 
has come in power." 

COMMENTARY 

The prediction by Iesous of his crucifixion is made more appro- 
priately in x. 32-34. Here it is fancifully appended by the forgers 
to the spurious incident where Iesous declares that Ioannes the Lus- 
trator was Elijah reincarnated. The notion is that as Ioannes had 
been put to death, so Iesous also would suffer. But the forgers have 
inadvertently left out the connecting statement about the martyr- 
dom of Ioannes. It is given clearly enough in ix. 13, but some 
bungling forger has disjoined it from the prediction of the cruci- 
fixion (which is repeated in ix. 31) by inserting the story of the 
epileptic boy whom the disciples failed to free from a possessing 
spirit. In attempting to improve the narrative the forgers have 
thus given the prediction in three places. 

If the prediction in ix. 1, above, were true historically and pro- 
phetically, the bystanders would be still on earth as wandering Jews, 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 525 

with but little hope of tasting death while the earth endures. Even 
the most hopeful eschatologists, saving ignorant fanatics who are 
looked upon askance by the respectably orthodox, are not now ex- 
pecting that Iesous will establish his kingdom on earth in the imme- 
diate future. 

The forgers must have had a collection of "sayings" (logia) 
which some compiler had made, severing them from the context. In 
attempting to fit these sayings into their appropriate places, they 
have made some curious dislocations and many repetitions ; and 
when unable to work them into the text with any pretence of rele- 
vancy, they have strung them together in a queer medley, interspers- 
ing them with vapid theological comments. The modern division 
of the text into chapters and verses betrays equal ignorance and 
incompetence, as in the above instance, where Chapter ix begins with 
the concluding sentence of an incident in the preceding chapter. 

Ch. ix. 2-13 

2 And after six days Iesous takes with him Petros, Iakobos 
and Ioannes, and brings them up into a lofty mountain, alone by 
themselves; and he was transfigured before them, 3 and his 
garments became glittering, exceedingly white, [[like snow]], 
such as no clothes-cleaner on earth can whiten them. 4 And to 
them appeared Elijah, with Moses ; and they were talking with 
Iesous. 5 And Petros answered and said to Iesous: 

"Rabbi, it is good for us to be here ; and let us build here three 
dwelling-places, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." 

6 For he did not know what answer to make ; for they were 
frightened. 7 And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and 
from the cloud came a voice, saying : 

"This is my favorite son ; hear ye him." 

8 And on a sudden, having looked around, they no longer saw 
any one but Iesous alone with themselves. 

9 And as they were descending from the mountain, he admon- 
ished them that they should relate to no one what they had seen, 
save when the Son of man should be risen from the dead. 10 And 
they kept that arcane doctrine among themselves, discussing what 



526 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

the rising from the dead is. n And they put a question to him, 
saying : 

"Say the scribes that Elijah must come first?" 

12 And he said to them : 

"Elijah indeed comes first and restores all things. And how is it 
written of the Son of man, that he should suffer many things, and 
be treated as of no account? 13 But I say to you, Elijah is come, 
and they have also done to him whatever they desired, just as it was 
written of him." 

COMMENTARY 

The text should read, "on the seventh day," but here and in Mat- 
thezv xvii. 1 it has been changed to "after six days," and in Luke ix. 
28 to "about eight days after," evidently because the forgers per- 
ceived that it would be un- Jewish for Iesous and his disciples to 
travel on the seventh day. 

Petros (patron saint of the Roman hierarchy) has here been sub- 
stituted for Ioudas. The proclamation of the voice from the cloud 
is only a variant of that made at the baptism of Iesous; and in this 
instance it is wholly inappropriate. Nor is the apparition of Elijah 
strictly consistent with the statement that he had reincarnated as 
Ioannes the Lustrator; for, although the psychic body of a man can 
assume the appearance he wore in any of his previous incarnations, 
it would naturally, be expected that here he would wear the likeness 
of Ioannes and not that of Elijah. 

Throughout the narrative Iesous constantly enjoins to secrecy his 
disciples, his patients, the spectators, and even the "unclean spirits," 
when usually there is no apparent reason for them to preserve si- 
lence. In a Mystery-play it is very probable that the importance of 
secrecy would be frequently alluded to, to impress it upon the minds 
of the initiates, who were the only spectators at the performance of 
the sacred drama; and in "historicizing" the drama the forgers ap- 
pear to have preserved this feature imitatively and for no reasonable 
purpose. 

The "prophecy" referred to in verse 13 is not in the Old Testa- 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 527 

ment or any other known scripture; presumably it is one of the 
many fabrications of the forgers. 

Ch. ix. 14-29 

14 And when they came to the [other] disciples, they saw a great 
crowd about them, and scribes discoursing with them. 15 And im- 
mediately all the crowd, when they saw him, were awe-struck, and 
running to him welcomed him. 16 And he asked them : 

"What are you discussing with them?" 

17 And one of the crowd answered him : 

"Teacher, I brought to you my son, who has a dumb spirit, 18 
and wheresoever it seizes him it knocks him down; and he foams, 
and gnashes his teeth, and he is withering away ; and I spoke to your 
disciples that they should cast it out, but they were unable [to do 
so]." 

19 But he answers them and says: 

"O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you, how 
long shall I endure you ? Bring him to me." 

20 And they brought him to him. And immediately on seeing 
him the spirit threw him into convulsions ; and he fell on the ground 
and wallowed, foaming [at the mouth]. 21 And he" asked his 
father : 

"How long a time is it that this has haopened to him?" 

And he said : 

"From early childhood. 22 And often it has cast him both into 
fire and into waters, that it might destroy him; but if you can do 
anything, have pity on us and help us." 

23 And Iesous said to him : 

"If you are able [[to believe]], all things are possible to the 
believer." 

24 And immediately the child's father, screaming, [ [with tears] ] , 
said: 

"I believe. [ [Master,] ] help my unbelief." 

25 But when Iesous saw that a crowd was coming together on 
the run, he reproved the unclean spirit, saying to it : 



528 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

"You deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, Come out of him; 
and no longer may you enter into him." 

26 And having screamed and thrown him into violent convul- 
sions, it came out; and he became like a corpse, so that the majority 
said: 

"He 's dead." 

27 But Iesous grasped him by the hand and raised him up, and 
he arose. 

28 And when he had entered into a house, his disciples asked him 
privately : 

"[Why] were we unable to cast it out?" 

29 And he said to them : 

"This kind can come out by nothing but prayer [ [and fasting] ] ." 

COMMENTARY 

In their ignorance of the fact that this "dumb" spirit was ame- 
nable only to prayer (and fasting, according to a later "historian") 
the disciples failed to eject him, which is all the more regrettable 
because this is the only specific account of their miracle-working 
recorded in the Synoptics. But Iesous, in defiance of his own pre- 
scription, did not pray or fast, but performed the cure offhand ; and 
according to the literal meaning of the words, "This kind can come 
out by nothing but prayer and fasting," it was the dumb spirit who 
should have prayed and fasted. The cure, however, is made contin- 
gent upon the vacillating faith of the father — who was neither the 
healer nor the patient, and who neither prayed nor fasted. The 
story is a tissue of puerile absurdities, written by some ignoramus 
whose work resembles the crude composition of a schoolboy. In 
Matthew and Luke the story has been condensed to about one-half, 
and the wording of it has been improved. 

Ch. ix. 30-32 

30 And they withdrew from that place, and returned through 
Galilee. And he did not wish that any one should know it. 31 For 
he was teaching his disciples ; and he said to them : 

"The Son of man is delivered into the hands of men, and they 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 529 

will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise 
[from the dead]." 

32 But they did not understand the saying, and were afraid to 
ask him. 

COMMENTARY 

The prediction of the crucifixion and resurrection should follow 
ix. 12, 13, from which it is separated by the interpolated story of 
the epileptic boy. Though genuine in substance, the prediction is 
here a repetition made by the forgers in padding out the text. 

It was a common belief among the Greeks that until the expira- 
tion of the "third day" after death the spirit could yet be recalled ; 
and on the third day special rites, termed rpira or Trporpira, were 
performed, with a view to the possible return of the spirit. In all 
the genuine portions of the Synoptics the references to popular be- 
liefs and customs are to Greek ones ; it is only in the spurious por- 
tions that anything Jewish or supposititiously Jewish is mentioned. 

Ch. ix. 33-50 

33 And they came to Kapernaum ; and when he was in the house 
he. asked them : 

"What were you discussing on the road?" 

34 But they kept silent ; for on the road they had been dis- 
cussing who [of the twelve was] more mature. 35 And he sat 
down, and called the twelve ; and he says to them : 

"If any one desires to be first, he shall be last of all, and a 
servant of all." 

36 And he took a little child and set it in their midst; and 
folding it in his arms, he said to them : 

37 "Whoever in my name shall entertain one such little child, 
entertains me; and whoever receives me, receives not me but 
him who sent me." 

38 Ioannes [[answered and]] said to him: 

"Teacher, we saw a [healer], [[who does not follow us,]] 
casting out ghosts in your name; and we restrained him, be- 
cause he does not go along after us." 



530 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

39 But Iesous said : 

"Do not restrain him; for there is no one who shall energize 
the Power in my name, and be able hastily to speak evil of me. 
40 For he is with us who is not against us. 41 For whoever in 
my name may give you a cup of water to drink, because you are 
the Anointed's [disciples], amen, I say to you, He should not 
at all lose his reward. 42 And whoever shall place an impedi- 
ment in the way of one of these little ones who believe [[in 
me]], it were far better for him if a ponderous millstone were 
placed around his neck and he were cast into the sea. 43 And 
if your hand is an impediment to you, amputate it ; it is good for you 
to enter into the [aeonian] life maimed, [rather] than having two 
hands to depart into Hinnom-valley, into unquenchable fire, [[44 
where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched']]. 45 
And if your foot is an impediment to you, amputate it; it is good 
for you to enter into the [aeonian] life limping, [rather] than having 
two feet to be thrown into Hinnom-valley, [[into the unquenchable 
fire, 46 where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not 
quenched'] ] . 47 And if your eye is an impediment to you, gouge it 
out; it is good for you to enter into God's realm one-eyed, rather 
than having two eyes to be thrown into that Hinnom-valley [[of 
fire]], 48 where 'their worm does not die, and the fire is not 
quenched/ 49 For every one shall be salted with fire, [ [and every 
sacrificial victim shall be salted with salt]]. 50 Salt is good; 
but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you season it? 
Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another." 

COMMENTARY 

The beautiful episode in which the followers of the Nous are 
likened to little children is here sadly mutilated. The literal state- 
ment that whoever "receives" a little child receives the Logos, or, 
theologically, Iesous, and thereby receives the Father, is a senti- 
mental absurdity. 

To the noble reproof administered by Iesous to his disciples the 
forgers have appended a farrago of nonsensical assertions, some of 
which are gloomy and horrifying. The peroration on the subject 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 531 

of salt, incoherent and chemically untrue, is a literary curiosity ; but 
it is probably a distortion of a genuine saying. 

Chapter x. 1-12 

1 And rising up from that place he comes into the borders of 
Judaea and beyond the Jordan; and crowds came together to him 
again, and as usual he taught them again. 2 And [[Pharisees 
came, and]] they asked him if it is lawful for a man to divorce 
his wife, putting him to a test. 3 And he answered and said to 
them: 

"What did Moses command you?" 

4 And they said : 

"Moses allowed [him] 'to write a bill of divorce, and to divorce 
[her].'" 

5 But Iesous said to them : 

"In view of your hard-heartedness he wrote you this com- 
mand. 6 But from the primal element of the world-building 
[[God]] 'made [[them]] male and female. 7 On this account, a 
man shall leave his father and his mother [ [and shall be cemented to 
his wife]'], 8 and the two shall become one carnal body/ so that 
they are no longer two, but one body. 9 What therefore God 
has yoked together let not man separate." 

10 And in the house the disciples again asked him about the mat- 
ter ; 11 and he says to them : 

"Whoever divorces his wife, and marries another, commits adul- 
tery against her; 12 and if a woman divorces her husband, and 
marries another, she commits adultery." 

COMMENTARY 

Even if human beings had been originally created male and fe- 
male, it would not follow logically that a man and a woman become 
one body when married, or that they should not procure a divorce 
if that course seemed advisable. That God yokes the two together 
is but a dogma of the priest- forgers. No reference is made, it will 
be noticed, to the fact that the ancient Jews practised polygamy; if 
a man and his wife become one body, it is a problem what a polyga- 



532 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

mist and his wives would become. The Greek law allowed a wife 
to procure a divorce from her husband, but the Jewish law did not ; 
and a Jewish writer would not have made the blunder contained in 
the text. 

Ch. x. 13-16 

13 And they were bringing to him little children, that he 
might touch them; but the disciples reproved those [[who are 
bringing them]]. 14 But when Iesous saw it, he was grieved, 
and said to them : 

"Permit the little children to come to me, and do not forbid 
them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 15 Amen, I 
say to you, Whoever shall not like a little child receive God's 
kingdom, he shall not at all enter into it." 

16 And he folded them in his arms, and went on praising 
them, laying his hands on them. 

COMMENTARY 

Though only a fragment of this episode is preserved in the text, 
its beauty lights up the page so darkened by the unlovely work of 
the ecclesiastical forgers. 

In the authorized version the word kateulogei, in verse 16 (the 
only place where the verb is found in the New Testament), is trans- 
lated "blessed"; but the verb is simply an intensive form of eulo- 
gein, "to eulogize," "to praise." 

Ch. x. 17-27 

17 And as he was going out on the road, one ran to him, and 
kneeled down to him, and asked him : 

"Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit aeonian life?" 

18 And Iesous said to him : 

"Why do you call me 'good' ? Except one, God, no one is good. 
19 You know the commandments, 'Do not kill' e Do not commit 
adultery/ 'Do not steal/ 'Do not testify falsely/ 'Do not defraud,' 
'Honor your father and mother/ " 

20 And he said to him : 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 533 

"Teacher, from my youth I have observed all these things." 

21 And Iesous looking upon him loved him, and said to him : 
"You lack one thing: go sell everything you possess and give [the 

proceeds] to the mendicants, and you will have treasure in heaven. 
And come, follow me, [ [taking up the cross] ] ." 

22 But he became gloomy at the doctrine, and went away grieved ; 
for he was one who had great possessions. 23 And looking around, 
Iesous says to his disciples : 

"In what a difficult way shall the possessors of riches enter into 
the kingdom of God !" 

24 And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Iesous 
answered again, and says to them : 

"Children, how difficult it is for those who rely on riches to enter 
into the kingdom of God ! 25 It is more feasible for a camel to go 
through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into the 
kingdom of God." 

26 And they were immeasurably astonished, saying to him : 
"Then who can be saved?" 

27 But Iesous, gazing at them, says : 

"It is impossible with men, but not with God; for 'with God all 
things are possible/ " 

COMMENTARY 

This rich man was not a murderer, an adulterer, a thief, a per- 
jurer or a swindler, and he had treated his parents respectfully; 
therefore he required but one more virtue to qualify him for the 
kingdom of heaven— and that virtue was poverty. How easy it would 
be to gain entrance to the kingdom on such terms ! But though he 
had kept all the commandments quoted by Iesous from the Old Testa- 
ment, and the new one prohibiting swindling, he failed in the crucial 
test of dividing his wealth among the beggars. To the inexpressible 
amazement of the disciples, he failed to crawl through that needle's 
eye, and inferentially his soul was salted with fire in the Hinnom- 
valley, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. 
But the moral of the tale is ruined by the final statement that salva- 
tion is impossible with men, and possible only with God, an objec- 



534 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

tionable sentiment which is supposed to have been borrowed from 
Genesis xviii. 4, but which is more probably a falsified version of 
the fine old Greek proverb, "If God be with us, everything that is 
impossible becomes possible." 

Ch. x. 28-31 

28 Petros began to say to him: 

"Behold, we have left all, and have followed you." 

29 Said Iesous : 

"Amen, I say to you, There is no one who has left house, or 

brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, [[or wife,]] or chil- 
dren, or lands, for the sake of me and of the good tidings, 30 
who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this season, houses, 
brothers, sisters, mothers, children and lands, with persecutions, 
and in the coming aeon life aeonian. 31 But many [who are] 
first shall be last; and last, first." 

COMMENTARY 

The offer of a hundredfold increase in the number of one's rela- 
tives, including a hundred mothers, might be an inducement to desert 
one's family, were it not for the "persecutions" that are thrown in. 
According to the received text the wife also is to be abandoned ; but 
the revisers have rejected the word "wife" as a too modern inter- 
polation : this leaves the married man in uncertainty as to whether 
he should desert his wife or take her along, she and he being but 
"one body." If the true doctrine is that he should desert her, it is 
still an open question whether or not he would receive the polyga- 
mous reward of a hundred wives. The reward, it will be noticed, 
is to be received "now in this season," that is, in the material world. 
The passage clearly has a mystical meaning, relating to the renun- 
ciation of the temporal life for the eternal ; but in the falsified text 
it is ridiculously literal. Each of the Synoptics contains the state- 
ment about "the first" and "the last"; but they disagree as to its 
meaning and its place in the text. Interpolated here, it seems to 
mean that many who are first to abandon home and family are last 
to receive the hundredfold reward that is promised. 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 535 

Ch. x. 32-34 

32 And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and 
Iesous was preceding them; and they were astonished, and the 
followers were afraid. And he again took to him the twelve, 
and began to tell them the things which were about to happen 
to him, 33 saying: 

"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man 
shall be handed over to the chief-priests and the scribes; and 
they will sentence him to death, and hand him over to the pro- 
fane, 34 and they will make sport of him, scourge him, spit 
upon him, and kill him; and after three days he will rise [from 
the dead]." 

COMMENTARY 

This prediction is made by Iesous on three occasions. Here it fits 
in with the context; but the other passages appear to be only un- 
necessary repetitions made in padding out the text. The rebuke 
to Simon should, naturally, follow this passage. 

Ch, x. 35-45 

35 And Iakobos and Ioannes, the [[two]] sons of Zebedaios, 
come up to him and say to him: 

"Teacher, we wish that you would do for us whatever we 
may ask of you." 

36 And he said to them: 

"What do you wish me to do for you?" 

37 And they said to him : 

"Grant to us that we may sit, one at your right and the other 
at your left hand, in your glory." 

38 But Iesous said to them : 

"You know not what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup 
which I am drinking, or be lustrated with the lustration with 
which I am being lustrated?" 

39 And they said to him : 
"We are able." 



536 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

And Iesous said to them : 

"You shall indeed drink the cup which I am drinking, and you 
shall be lustrated [with] the lustration [with] which I am being 
lustrated ; 40 but to sit at my right hand and at my left hand 
is not mine to grant. But [you are the two] for whom it has 
been prepared." 

41 And the ten, when they heard [this], began to be dis- 
pleased about Iakobos and Ioannes. 42 But Iesous, having 
summoned them to him, says: 

"You know that those who are reputed to rule over the pro- 
fane hold them in subjection, and their great ones domineer 
over them. 43 But among you it is not so ; but whoever wishes 
to become great among you shall be your servant, 44 and 
whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. 45 
For even the Son of man came not to be served, but to do ser- 
vice, and to give his life as a ransom for many." 

COMMENTARY 

In substance this passage is genuine; but apparently it has suf- 
fered many things of many interpolators. The lacuna in verse 40 
would indicate that an erasure had been made and then carelessly 
left without a fraudulent substitute. Verse 44 is repeated almost 
verbatim from ix. 35. 

Ch. x. 46-52 

46 And they come to Jericho; and as he was going out from 
Jericho, and his disciples and a considerable crowd, the son of 
Timaios (ifor-Timaios), a blind beggar, was sitting beside the road; 
47 and having heard that it is Iesous the Nazorsean, he began to 
shout and say : 

"Iesous, son of David, have compassion on me !" 

48 And many reproved him, that he should be silent; but he 
shouted much more : 

"Son of David, have compassion on me!" 

49 And Iesous stopped, and said : 
"Calf him." 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 537 

And they call the blind man, saying to him : 
"Take courage; rise up, he is calling you." 

50 And he, throwing away his cloak, sprang up, and came to 
Iesous. 

5 1 And Iesous answered and says to him : 
"What do you wish I should do for you?" 
And the blind man said to him : 
"Rabboni, that I may recover my sight." 

52 And Iesous said to him : 
"Go ; your faith has saved you." 

And immediately he recovered his sight, and went along with 
Iesous on the road. 

COMMENTARY 

In the case of this blind beggar Iesous relies wholly upon faith, 
and neglects to employ saliva, yet the cure is "immediate." This 
seems to be the only moral to be derived from the story. Timaios 
is strictly a Greek name; but Bar-Timaios, which means "son of 
Timaios," is a barbarism. 

Chapter xi. i-io 

1 And when they were nearing Jerusalem, Bethphage and 
Bethany, towards the mountain of the olive-trees, he sends two 
of his disciples, 2 and says to them : 

"Go into the village opposite you, and immediately on enter- 
ing it you will find a colt tied, on which no man has ever yet 
sat. Untie him, and bring him. 3 And if any one says to you, 
'Why are you doing this?' say, 'The Master has need of it, and 
immediately he will send it here again.' " 

4 And they departed, and found a colt tied at the door, outside 
[the stable] , in the alley ; and they untied it. 5 And some of the 
[villagers] standing there said to them: 

"What are you doing, untying the colt?" 

6 And they said to them just as Iesous had said; and they 
permitted them [to take the colt] . 7 And they brought the colt 
to Iesous ; and they threw their cloaks on it, and he bestrode it. 



538 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

8 And many strewed their cloaks on the road, and others leaf- 
mattresses which they had cut from the fields. 9 And those 
going before and those following kept shouting: 

"Hosanna! 'Blessed [is] he who is coming in the Master's 
name.' 10 Blessed [be] the coming kingdom [[in the Master's 
name] ] of our father David. Hosanna in the highest [heavens'] !" 

COMMENTARY 

In the parallel passage in Matthew the "colt" accompanies a she- 
ass; but here the text has been tampered with to conceal the Bak- 
chic connection of the animal. Whether or not Mark is older or 
more primitive than Matthew and Luke, the fact remains that it has 
been as unscrupulously "edited" as the others have been. Its very 
crudity is largely due to the destructive work of ignorant and unskil- 
ful forgers. 

The translation in the received version, ff Hosanna in the highest," 
is misleading; for "highest" is in the plural, apparently referring to 
the heavens, of which the ancients, both Jews and "Gentiles," enu- 
merated seven, corresponding to the seven planets. 

Ch. xi. 11-14 

1 1 And he entered into Jerusalem, into the temple ; and when 
he had looked round upon all things, the hour being now late, 
he withdrew to Bethany with the twelve. 

12 And on the morrow, when they had come out from 
Bethany, he was hungry. 13 And seeing at a distance a fig-tree 
leafed out, he went [to see] if perhaps he might find anything 
on it; and having come to it, he found nothing but leaves: for it 
was not the season of figs. 14 And he answered and said to it: 

"May no one eat fruit of thee any more throughout the aeon !" 
And his disciples heard it. 

COMMENTARY 

Throughout the text occur short explanatory clauses that are re- 
markable for their stupidity; for in each case the "explanation" 
ruins the story. To this category belongs the statement that "it 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 539 

was not the season of figs." According to this, Iesous not only 
made the mistake of looking for figs out of season, but unjustly 
destroyed the tree because it had not produced fruit untimely. 

The phrase "answered and said" is often used in the Synoptics 
when the word "answered" is not applicable; and it is particularly 
absurd in this passage, where the words of Iesous are addressed 
to the fig-tree. 

Ch. xi. 15-19 

1 5 And they come to Jerusalem ; and he entered into the tem- 
ple, and began to drive out those selling and buying in the 
temple, and overturned the tables of the money-changers, and 
the seats of those who were selling the doves. 16 And he would 
not permit that any one should carry a vessel through the temple. 
17 And he taught, and said to them : 

"Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for 
all the nations'? But you have made it 'a den of robbers.' ' 

18 And the chief-priests and the scribes heard it, and they sought 
how they might destroy him ; for they feared him, for all the crowd 
were astonished at his teaching. 19 And he used to go out of 
the city as soon as evening came. 

COMMENTARY 

The few words taken from Isaiah (lvi. 7) and Jeremiah (vii. 11) 
are, for a wonder, correctly quoted and not inappropriate; but 
though it is said that Iesous "taught," only this caustic remark is 
recorded, and it can hardly be regarded as instructive. 

Ch. xi. 20-26 

20 And in the morning, as they were passing by, they saw 
the fig-tree dried up from the roots. 21 And Petros, having 
remembered, says to him : 

"Rabbi, see the fig-tree which you cursed is dried up." 

22 And Iesous answering says to them : 

"Have faith in God. 23 Amen, I say to you, Whoever shall 
say to this mountain, 'Be removed and thrown into the sea,' and 



540 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

shall not doubt in his heart, but believe that what he says is 
happening, it shall be possible for him [to do it]. 24 For this 
reason I say to you, Believe that you have received all things 
whatsoever that you ask for when praying, and they shall be 
possible [for you to acquire]. 25 And whenever you stand up 
praying, if you have anything against any one, forgive [him], 
that also your Father who is in the skies may forgive you your 
offences. [[26 But if you do not forgive [him], neither will 
your Father who is in the skies forgive your offences]]." 

COMMENTARY 

The subject of prayer, although relevant, is introduced very 
abruptly with no expression connecting it with the blasting of the 
fig-tree ; and although verse 25 clearly leads up to the model petition 
commonly called "the Lord's Prayer," the discourse of Iesous ends 
as abruptly as it began, and instead of the prayer a forged sentence, 
verse 26, is given. This verse is one of the later interpolations, and 
is rejected even by the revisers. False antitheses, similar to the one 
it enunciates, are to be found elsewhere in the text. 

CH. XL 27-33 

27 And they come again to Jerusalem. And as he was walk- 
ing in the temple, the chief-priests, the scribes and the elders 
come to him. 28 And they said to him: 

"By what authority are you doing these things?" or, "Who 
gave you this authority, that you should do these things?" 

29 And Iesous said to them: 

"I also shall put you a question as to one doctrine; and an- 
swer me, and I shall tell you by what authority I am doing these 
things. 30 Was the lustral rite of Ioannes from the heaven- 
world, or from men? Answer me." 

3 1 And they argued among themselves, saying : 

"Should we say, 'From the heaven-world,' he will say, 'Then 
why did you not believe him?' 32 But should we say, 'From 
men — 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 541 

They feared the people ; for all held that Ioannes was really 
a seer. 33 And they answered Iesous, and say: 

"We do not know." 

And Iesous says to them : 

"Neither do I tell you by what authority I am doing these 
things." 

COMMENTARY 

In Matthew this incident serves to introduce the allegory of the 
two sons, which is not given in Mark and Luke, though all three 
have the allegory of the wicked husbandmen, which follows. In 
Matthew these unhistorical "Pharisees'"' are dealt with more severely 
than they are in the other Synoptics. 

Chapter xii. 1-12 

1 And he began to discourse to them in allegories : 
"A man 'planted a vineyard, and placed a hedge about it, and 
dug a wine-vat, and built a tower,' and leased it to husbandmen, 
and went travelling abroad. 2 And at the season he sent to the 
husbandmen a slave, that he might receive of the fruit of the 
vineyard. 3 But they laid hold of him and beat him, and sent 
him away empty-handed. 4 And again he sent to them another 
slave; and him they [[pelted with stones and]] wounded on 
the head, [[and sent him away,]] and insulted him. 5 And 
again he sent another; and him they killed; and many others, 
beating some and killing some. 6 He had yet one, a favorite 
son ; him he sent to them last, saying : 
" 'They will revere my son.' 

7 "But those husbandmen said among themselves : 

! 'This is the heir ; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance 
will be ours.' 

8 "And they laid hold of him and killed him, and threw him 
out of the vineyard. 9 What will the master of the vineyard 
do? He will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give 
the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not read even this scrip- 
ture : 



542 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

" 'The stone which the builders rejected, 
The same has become the head of the corner; 

1 1 This came from the Master, 

And it is wondrous in our eyes'?" 

12 And they sought to seize him; but they feared the crowd: 
for they perceived that he spoke the allegory against them. And 

they left him, and withdrew. 

COMMENTARY 

Many of the quotations from the Old Testament with which the 
text is sprinkled are, like this one concerning the corner-stone, al- 
most wholly irrelevant; others are often merely phrases or sentences 
suggested, apparently, by some word in the original text. Thus the 
statement that "a man planted a vineyard" is not necessarily a quo- 
tation from anything, but it suggests the allegory in Isaiah v. i— 6, 
where the hedge, the wine-vat and the tower are appropriately intro- 
duced, though in the allegory here they are only trivial details that 
mar rather than adorn the story by detracting from its vividness; 
they are not in the parallel in Luke. 

Ch. xii. 13-17 

13 And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and of the Hero- 
dians, that they might catch him in doctrine. 14 And they come 
and say to him : 

"Teacher, we know that you are truthful, and are not concerned 
about any one; for you do not look at the external appearance of 
men, but really teach. the path of God. Is it lawful to give tribute 
to Caesar, or not ? 15 Should we give, or should we not give ?" 

But he, knowing their dissembling, said to them : 

"Why do you put me a test? Bring me a denarius, that I may 
see it." 

16 And they brought it. And he says to them : 

"Whose is this image and inscription?" 

And they said to him : 

"Caesar's." 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 543 

17 And Iesous said: 

"Render to Caesar the things due to Caesar, and to God the things 
due to God." 

And they were filled with admiration at him. 

COMMENTARY 

That Iesous should adopt the kindergarten method of instruction 
in dealing with the hypocritical interrogators is hardly likely. The 
Jews had to pay tribute to Caesar whether they regarded it as "law- 
ful" or not. If the Pharisees and "Herodians" (whoever the latter 
may have been) hoped to trick Iesous into openly defying the ruling 
power, their simplicity of mind must have been wonderful. He 
treats them to a kindergarten lesson, and then, evading their ques- 
tion, utters a platitude which excites admiration in their unsophisti- 
cated minds. Yet his answer is far from being admirable, incul- 
cating as it does ignoble submission to oppression and tyranny. The 
wording of the story is very crude. 

Ch. xii. 18-27 

18 And to him come Sadducees (who say there is no resurrec- 
tion) ; and they put a question to him, saying: 

19 "Teacher, Moses wrote to us, c If any one's brother should die' 
and leave behind a wife, c and not leave a child, his brother should 
take the wife, and raise up seed for his brother/ 20 There were 
seven brothers; and the first took a wife, and dying left no seed; 
21 and the second took her, and died leaving behind no seed; and 
the third likewise ; 22 and the seven [ [had taken her and] ] left no 
seed. Last of all the woman also died. 23 In the resurrection, 
[ [when they shall rise,] ] of which one of them will she be the wife ? 
For the seven had her to wife." 

24 Said Iesous to them : 

"Not knowing the scriptures or the power of God, are you not 
mistaken on this account? 25 They neither marry nor are 
given in marriage when they rise from the dead, but are like the 
Divinities in the skies. 26 But in reference to the dead, that 
they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses [in the allegory 



544 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

about] the Thorn-bush, how God spoke to him saying, 'The God of 
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob am F? 27 He is 
the God, not of the dead, but of the living. You are greatly mis- 
taken." 

COMMENTARY 

This is another of the attempts of the forgers to produce some- 
thing really clever : the Pharisees and the "Herodians" having been 
stirred to admiration by the Teacher's kindergarten lesson, the Sad- 
ducees are now given an opportunity to entrap him. But the ques- 
tion asked by the Sadducees is merely childish, and the answer given 
by Iesous is not particularly convincing or brilliant. Those who 
"rise from the dead" become sexless, like the "angels" ; hence all 
married couples are eternally divorced in heaven, although, accord- 
ing to previous teachings, God originally made them "male and 
female," and when united in marriage man and wife "become one 
body," and should not be divorced save for adultery. Therefore it 
is highly reprehensible for a husband and wife, when they discover 
that they are mismated and can not fuse into a unit, to resolve them- 
selves into two distinct individualities again by the process of di- 
vorce ; though it is commendable for a hopelessly barren woman to 
be married to seven brothers in succession as rapidly as each of these 
seven consecutive halves of her is consigned to his grave. But 
instead of elucidating this question, Iesous wanders from the sub- 
ject, and quotes from Moses an irrelevant passage, from which he 
makes a false deduction: for it does not follow that because God 
is the God of the living he is not the God of the dead also. 

Ch. xii. 28-34 

28 And one of the scribes had approached and heard them 
discussing together; perceiving that Iesous answered them 
appositely, he put a question to him : 

"Which is the first commandment of all?" 

29 Iesous answered him: 

"The first is, 'Hear, O Israel,' 'Our God is the Master, [and] 
the Master is one'; 30 and 'Thou shalt love thy Master-God 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 545 

from all thy heart, and from all thy soul, and from all thy mind, 
and from all thy strength.' [This is the first commandment.] ] 31 
[ [And like it] ] the second is this, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor 
as thyself/ There is not any other commandment greater than 
these." 

32 And the scribe said to him : 

"Nobly said, Teacher! Truly have you said that '[[God]] is 
one, and there is no other besides him' ; 33 and ( to love him with all 
the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and 
with all the strength,' and 'to love one's neighbor as oneself/ is 
more excellent than all 'whole burnt-offerings and sacrificial 
rites/ " 

34 And Iesous, when he saw that he answered with discrimi- 
nation, said to him : 

"You are not far from the kingdom of God/' 

And no one any more presumed to put a question to him. 

COMMENTARY 

This story is vigorous and pointed ; but it has been so padded that 
the point can be discerned only by careful scrutiny. The anti-ritual- 
istic moral it contains was doubtless unappreciated by the priest- 
forgers who have smothered it with labored quotations from the 
Old Testament. The question is asked by a "scribe," a man of 
learning; the two preceding ones, propounded by "Pharisees" and 
"Sadducees," with the answers, are pseudo-Jewish padding. 

Ch. xii. 35-37 

35 And Iesous, as he was teaching in the temple, answered and 
said: 

"How say the scribes that the Anointed is David's son ? 36 David 
himself said in the sacred Breath : 

'The Master said to my Master, 

"Sit thou at my right hand, 

Until I place thine enemies underneath thy feet." ' 
^y David himself calls him 'Master' ; and wherefore is he his son?" 

And the great crowd heard him gladly. 



546 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

The word "Jehovah" is avoided by the Synoptists : wherever it 
occurs in a quotation, as in the above from Psalms (ex. i), it is 
rendered "Master," the conventional "Lord" of the authorized ver- 
sion. The quotation is made the basis of a conundrum, and the 
reader is left to answer it as best he may. If David called Iesous 
his "Master," how could Iesous be his son? Conceding, for the 
purpose of the argument, that the "Master" referred to by David 
was Iesous, the answer would be that he was not his son. Thus 
Iesous seems to deny that he is the son of David. But if Iesous is 
considered as a reincarnation of David, he would be his "son" in a 
mystical sense. 

Ch. xii. 38-44 

38 And in his teaching he said : 

"Beware of the scribes who are fond of walking about in flow- 
ing robes, and [covet] salutations in the market-places. 39 and 
front seats at the synagogues, and prominent places when re- 
clining [at table] at dinners — 40 who devour widows' houses 
even while in pretence they pray at great length. These shall 
receive a more severe sentence." 

41 And he sat down opposite the treasury, and beheld how the 
crowd keep throwing money into the treasury ; and many rich peo- 
ple were throwing in much. 42 And one poverty-stricken widow 
threw in two very small coins, which equal a farthing. 43 And 
calling his disciples to him, he said to them : 

"Amen, I say to you, This widow, wretchedly poor, has thrown 
in more than all the contributors to the treasury; 44 for they all 
threw in out of their superabundance, but she, out of her destitu- 
tion, has thrown in all that she had, her entire wealth !" 

COMMENTARY 

Here is exemplified the priest-forgers' notion of what is meant 
by rendering to God the things due to God: the poor widow is 
lauded for contributing her last copper coin for the support of the 
priests. Presumably the priests had already "devoured" her house 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 547 

and other possessions. A more striking example of priestly rapacity 
can hardly be imagined. The words here put into the mouth of 
Iesous seem to imply that contributions, no matter how generous, 
are not meritorious unless they leave the contributor in bitter need 
of what he, or she, has cast into the treasury of some temple or 
church, to help keep the predacious priests in luxury. Here the 
priest-forgers have changed to a warning against the "scribes" a 
discourse which in Matthew is a stern denunciation of the "Phari- 
sees," or priestly class. 

Chapter xiii. 1-27 

1 And as he was going forth out of the temple, one of the dis- 
ciples says to him: 

"Teacher, look ; what kind of stones, and what kind of build- 
ings." 

2 And Iesous said to him : 

"Do you see these great buildings? There shall not be left 
here a stone upon [another] stone, which shall not be thrown 
down." 

3 And as he was sitting on the mountain of the olive-trees, 
opposite the temple, Petros, Iakobos, Ioannes and Andreas 
asked him privately : 

4 "Tell us, when shall these things be, and what the sign 
[shall be] when these things are all about to be consummated?" 

5 And Iesous began to say to them : 

"Beware lest any one should mislead you. 6 Many will come 
in my name, saying, 'I am [he]'; and they will mislead many. 
7 But when you shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not 
be terrified ; it must inevitably happen, but the completion is not 
yet. 8 For 'nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against 
kingdom'; and there shall be earthquakes, according to the 
places ; there shall be famines. These are the beginning of the 
throes-of-birth. 9 But take care of yourselves : for they will 
hand you over to councils, and you will be flogged in the syna- 
gogues: and you will stand, for my sake, before governors and 
kings, for a testimony to them. 10 And it is necessary that first 



548 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

the good tidings should be proclaimed to all the nations, n But 
whenever they lead you away, handing you over, do not premeditate 
what you are to say, [ [or mentally rehearse it] ] ; but whatever may 
be given you in that hour, speak that ; for you are not the speakers, 
but [it is] the sacred Breath. 12 And brother will deliver brother 
to death, the father [his] child; and 'children will rise up against 
parents' and put them to death. 13 And on account of my name 
you will be hated by all ; but he who remains constant until the com- 
pletion, he shall be saved. 

14 "But when you shall see 'the desolating abomination' [[which 
was spoken of by Daniel the seer]] standing where it should not 
(let the reader take notice), then let those who are in Judaea flee to 
the mountains; 15 and let him who is on the housetop not come 
down [[into the house]], nor enter in, to take anything out of his 
house; 16 and let him who is in the field not return to the things 
that are behind, to take his cloak. 17 But woe to pregnant women 
and to women with babe at breast in those days ! 18 And pray that 
[ [your flight] ] may not take place in winter. 19 For in those days 
shall be 'an ordeal, such as the like has not happened from the foun- 
dation of the universe' (which God established) 'until now,' and 
shall not [again] happen. 20 And unless the Master had cut short 
those days, not an embodied being would have been saved ; but for 
the sake of the select, whom he has chosen, he has cut short the days. 

21 And then if any one shall say to you, 'Behold, here is the 
Anointed!' or, 'Behold, [he is] there!' do not believe [him]. 

22 For pretended Anointeds and pretended seers will arise, and 
'will give signs and wonders/ to mislead, if possible [ [even] ] the 
select. 23 But be on your guard. Behold, I have foretold to 
you all things. 24 But in those days, after that ordeal, 'the sun 
shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, 25 and 
the stars shall be falling from the sky, and the powers which are in 
the sky shall be shaken.' 26 And then 'they shall see the Son of man 
coming in clouds with great power and glory' ; 27 and then he shall 
send his Divinities, and 'shall gather together' his select 'from the 
four winds, from the extremity of the earth to the extremity of the 
sky.' 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 549 

COMMENTARY 

Any temple where a widow's last mite would be cheerfully re- 
ceived should very properly be razed to the ground; but as the 
"temple" here is an allegorical one, that point need not be pressed. 
According to the falsified text, however, it was the temple at Jeru- 
salem that was to be destroyed, and that event was to be followed 
by the reappearance 'of the Messiah and the cataclysmal end of the 
world. As the "prophecy" was undoubtedly written many years 
after the destruction of the temple, it was "fulfilled" in that retro- 
spective particular ; but the dismal failure of the rest of it has proved 
that the forgers were rash in attempting to predict anything that 
had not already taken place. Here they have taken a superb allegory 
of the awakening of the soul and converted it into a fantastic 
prophecy of the "second coming" of a Messiah who did not come 
in the first instance save in the pages of their religious romance. 
Yet the original allegory of the "second birth" shows out through 
the dark superstitions they have written into it. 

In verse 14 Iesous, while speaking to his disciples, addresses "the 
reader." The "historian" who enriched the discourse probably over- 
looked the fact that it was an oral one. 

Ch. xiii. 28-37 

28 "Now, from the fig-tree understand the allegory: when 
her branch has already become tender, and puts forth leaves, 
you know that summer is near ; 29 so you also, when you see 
these things happening, know that [the kingdom of God] is 
near, right at the doors. 30 Amen, I say to you, This generative- 
sphere shall not at all pass away until all these things shall have 
happened. 31 The sky and the earth shall pass away, but my 
arcane doctrines shall not pass away. 32 But as regards that 
day, or the hour, no one knows, not even the Divinities in the 
sky, nor yet the Son (except the Father). 33 Keep guard, 
watch [ [and pray] ] ; for you know not when the season is. 34 
[For the Son is] like a man away from home, having left his 
house, and having given authority to his slaves, to each one his 



550 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

work; and he has commanded the doorkeeper that he should 
watch. 35 Watch, therefore, for you do not know when the 
master of the house is coming, whether in the evening, or at 
midnight, or at cock-crowing, or in the morning ; 36 lest com- 
ing unexpectedly he should find you sleeping. 37 And what I 
say to you I say to all, Watch !" 

COMMENTARY 

The preceding allegory is here elucidated by the imagery of the 
leafing out of the rig-tree. It is not the allegory of the fig-tree, but 
the explanation of the allegory by means of the fig-tree. The 
lacuna in verse 29 is filled in by the revisers, "he is near," with a 
marginal second guess as "if ; but quite evidently the kingdom is 
intended. 

Chapter xiv. i-ii 

1 Now, after two days it was [the feast of] the passover and the 
unleavened bread ; and the chief-priests and the scribes were seeking 
how they might lay hold of him by guile, and kill him ; 2 for they 
said: 

"Not during the feast, lest perchance there shall be an uproar of 
the common people." 

3 And while he was in Bethany, in the house of Simon the 
leper, as he was reclining [at table], a woman came, having an 
alabaster flask of genuine oil of spikenard, very expensive ; and 
having broken [the neck of] the flask, she poured [the oil] over 
his head. 4 And some were indignant among themselves; 
[[and they said]] : 

"Wherefore has taken place this waste of the oil? 5 For this 
oil could have been sold for above three hundred denarii, and given 
to the poor." 

And they were very angry at her. 6 But Iesous said : 

"Let her alone. Why do you cause her pain ? She has performed 
a gracious deed on me. 7 For you have the poor with you always, 
and you can [[always]] do them good whenever you wish; but me 
you do not have always. 8 She has done what she could : she has 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 551 

in anticipation anointed my body for the burial. 9 Amen, I say to 
you, Wherever, throughout the whole world, the good tidings shall 
be proclaimed, that also which this [woman] has done shall be 
spoken of for a memorial of her." 

10 And Ioudas Iskariotes, the destined one of the twelve, went 
away to the chief-priests, that he might hand him over to them. 
1 1 And they rejoiced when they heard [him], and promised to give 
him money. And he kept deliberating how he might opportunely 
hand him over. 

COMMENTARY 

This story of the dinner at Simon's house should properly follow 
that of the healing of Simon's wife's mother, Ch. i. 29-31. It is 
repeated almost verbatim in Matthezv, but is far better told in Luke, 
where it is dramatic and powerful, though disfigured by the usual 
theological additions by the forgers. Here in Mark the woman is 
made to anoint the head of Iesous, not his feet, and the fact that she 
was a fallen woman is suppressed. The point of the story having 
thus been destroyed, a new meaning was given it by inserting the 
implausible statement that she had anticipated the anointing of the 
dead body of Iesous, and the suggestion by the disciples that the oil 
should, have been sold and the proceeds given to the poor. In the 
text of Luke the story is a protest against sanctimoniousness ; but 
the variant of it in Mark and Matthew is sanctimonious to the last 
degree. 

As Iesous was openly appearing before the people, and was known 
by all, it is a mystery why the priests should have required the ser- 
vices of Ioudas. The situation afforded no possible need of a 
"traitor." The priests had only to lay their hands on Iesous at any 
time they could muster up courage to do so. If Ioudas was guilty 
of anything, it was of obtaining money under a false pretence. 

Ch. xiv. 12-16 

12 And on the first day of unleavened bread, when they sac- 
rificed the [young ram at the] passover, his disciples say to 
him: 



552 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

' 'Where do you wish us to go and make ready that you may 
eat the passover?" 

1 3 And he sends away two of his disciples, and says to them : 
"Go into the city, and a man bearing a pitcher of water will 
meet you; 14 and wherever he may enter in, say to the lord 
of the house, 'The Teacher says, "Where is the dining-room, 
where I may eat the passover with my disciples?" ' 15 And he 
will himself show you a large upper room spread [with couches 
and tables], ready. There make ready for us." 

16 And the disciples went away, and came into the city, and 
found [the Water-bearer], just as he had said to them; and 
they made ready the passover. 

COMMENTARY 

The text here has been left less complete than in Luke, while the 
parallel passage in Matthew has had most of the details erased from 
it in the attempt to conceal the astronomical meaning of the allegory, 
an attempt that could not be other than futile, since the Jewish pass- 
over is in fact a celebration of the vernal equinox, a time when the 
sun passes over the equator. 

Ch. xiv. 17-25 

17 And when evening arrived, he comes with the twelve. 18 
And as they were reclining [at table] and were eating, Iesous 
said: 

"Amen, I say to you, One among you will hand me over, 
'he who is eating with me! " 

19 And they began to be grieved, and to say to him one by 
one: 

"Not I, I hope?" [ [And another said, "Not I, I hope ?"] ] 

20 But he [[answered and]] said to them: 

"[It is] one of the twelve, he who is dipping with me in the 
[[one]] bowl. 21 For the Son of man goes [to his death], as 
it is written concerning him; but woe to that man through 
whom the Son of man is handed over! It were good for him if 
that man had not been born !" 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 553 

22 And as they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and hav- 
ing blessed it, he broke it in pieces, and gave [the portions] to 
them, and said : 

"Take, [ [eat] ] ; this is my body." 

23 And he took a wine-cup, and when he had given thanks, 
he gave it to them, and they all drank from it. 24 And he said 
to them : 

"This is my blood 'of the new covenant/ which is poured out 
for many. 25 Amen, I say to you, Nevermore shall I drink of 
the product of the vine until that day when I drink it new in 
the kingdom of God." 

COMMENTARY 

Save for a passing reference to the paschal lamb (erroneously 
called "the passover") and the unleavened bread, there is nothing 
Jewish in the preparations made for the celebration; and the so- 
called "Lord's Supper" itself, as described in the text, has not even 
a touch of Jewish local color. On the contrary, 'the "loaf" men- 
tioned might have been of Greek baking and the "wine" have been 
of the vintage of Bakchos. That the "communion" belonged to the 
ritual of the solar cult is unquestionable. Justin Martyr (ApoL, ii) 
incautiously admits that this rite in which bread and wine are par- 
taken of as symbolizing the flesh and blood of the Sun-God had 
been celebrated from time immemorial in the mysteries and minis- 
trations of Mithras. In the Eleusinian Mysteries it took the form 
of the eating of the KVKtow, the sacred "mixture," a sort of thick 
soup which was "both food and drink" ; and this ceremony was 
followed by the 7rap<xSocris tojv lepcov, the "giving in turn of the 
sacred objects," each initiate handing them over to the next. 

The scriptural prophecy referred to in verse 21 is not contained 
in any known scripture. 

Ch. xiv. 26-42 

26 And when they had chanted an ode, they went to the 
mountain of the olive-trees. 27 And Iesous says to them : 

"You will all be caused to fall away [ [in regard to me, during 
this night] ] ; for it is written, T will smite the shepherd, and the 



554 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

sheep shall be scattered abroad/ 28 But after I have been raised 
[from the dead], I shall precede you into Galilee." 

29 But Petros said to him : 

"Even if all [the others] shall be caused to fall away, yet I 
will not." 

30 And Iesous says to him : 

"Amen, I say to you, To-day, this night, before the cock crows 
twice, you will utterly deny me thrice." 

3 1 But he exclaimed vehemently : 

"If it were inevitable for me to die with you, I shall in no wise 
deny you." 

And they all spoke in the same strain. 

32 And they come to an enclosure, the name of which is 
Gethsemane ; and he says to his disciples : 

"Sit here, while I pray." 

33 And he takes with him Petros, Iakobos and Ioannes; and 
he began to be stunned and depressed. 34 And he says to 
them: 

(C ( My soul is deeply grieved/ even to death. Remain here and 
watch." 

35 And having gone forward a little, he fell on the ground, 
and prayed that if it were possible the hour might pass away 
from him. 36 And he said : 

"Abba, Father, all things are possible to thee: remove this cup 
from me — yet not as I will, but as thou wiliest." 

3J And he comes, and finds them sleeping, and he says to 
Petros : 

"Simon, are you sleeping? Were you not able to watch one 
hour? 38 Watch, and pray that you may not enter into temp- 
tation. The spirit indeed is eager, but the flesh is weak." 

39 And again he went away and prayed, [[saying the same 
speech]]. 40 And again he came, and found them sleeping 
(for their eyes were weighed down) ; and they did not know 
what answer they should give him. 41 And he comes the third 
time, and says to them : 

"Are you sleeping already and taking your rest? [Sleep] 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 555 

keeps far [from me] : the hour has come. Behold, the Son of 
man is delivered over into the hands of sinners ! 42 Arise ; let 
us be going. Behold, he who is handing me over has drawn 
near." 

COMMENTARY 

The "prophecy" quoted from Zechariah (xiii. 7) is obtained by 
juggling the words of a command which reads, "Awake, O sword, 
. . . smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered." The 
promise of Iesous to precede his disciples into Galilee was probably 
inserted by the forger who added the spurious ending to the Gospel; 
it is repeated in xvi. 7. 

The Iesous of the Hellenic allegory, as a neophyte undergoing the 
ordeals of initiation, is a figure sublime and heroic ; but the pseudo- 
Iesous of the ecclesiastical forgers, who have attempted to depict 
him as the only Son of God and a world-savior, acts his part like an 
incompetent understudy of the real hero of the drama. Though he 
is supposed to be God incarnated to offer himself up as a voluntary 
sacrifice for the salvation of humanity, he yet prays mournfully to 
the Father to save him from the sacrifice. His request is refused : 
either all things were not possible to God, or he was deaf to the sup- 
plication of his Son. According to this extraordinary interpolation, 
it was not the will of Iesous to be crucified, but the will of his Father, 
to which he sadly submitted. Yet he was not to suffer the full 
penalty imposed — by Christian theology — upon mankind, that is, 
eternal torment. For he was to remain but three days in Hades; 
or, rather, his physical body was to be three days in Hades ("the 
grave," not "hell"), while his spirit, according to his own words 
{Lake xxiii. 43) was to be in Paradise. A brave man faces death 
fearlessly; and no man of true nobility of character would accept 
"salvation" at the expense of an unwilling proxy. 

Ch. xiv. 43-52 

43 And immediately, while he was yet speaking, comes Iou- 
das, one of the twelve, and with him a [[large]] crowd, with 
swords and clubs, from the chief-priests, the scribes and the 



556 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

elders. 44 Now, he who hands him over had given them a con- 
certed sign, saying : 

' 'Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is he; seize him and lead him 
away safely." 

45 And when he had come, immediately he came to him, and 
says : 

"Rabbi>[[ Rabbi]]," and kissed him again and again. 46 And 
they laid [ [their] ] hands on him and seized him. 47 But a cer- 
tain one of the bystanders drew his sword and struck the high- 
priest's slave, and took off his ear. 48 And Iesous answered 
and said to them : 

"Have you come out, as against a bandit, with swords and 
clubs to apprehend me ? 49 Daily I was with you in the temple, 
teaching; and you did not seize me. But [this has come about] 
that the scriptures might be fulfilled." 

50 And they all left him, and fled. 51 And a certain young 
man tried to follow in company with him, having a linen cloth 
thrown about [his] naked . . . And [[the young men]] seize 
him; 52 but he relinquished the linen cloth, and fled [[from 
them]] naked. 

COMMENTARY 

According to John (xviii. 10) the bystander who lopped off the 
slave's ear was Petros ; and evidently he was named in the Synoptics 
as the guilty party, for Luke (xxii. 36-38) provides the disciples 
with swords for the occasion, to give the incident an air of plausi- 
bility, since it could hardly be presumed that the disciples habitually 
went armed. But, later, when Petros had been adopted as the pa- 
tron saint of the church, his name was doubtless expunged from the 
text in this latter incident, which was seen to reflect little credit on 
him. By oversight, probably, the name was retained in the text of 
John. 

What "scriptures" are referred to in verse 49 is unknown. No 
doubt the forger himself did not know. 

The linen cloth, or rather veil, worn by the young man (Ioudas) 
was wrapped about him as a loin-cloth, naturally. The "redactors" 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 557 

have chastely left a lacuna in the text, which the authorized version 
innocently fills in with the word "body." 

Ch. xiv. 53-72 

53 And Iesous they led away to the high-priest; and there 
came together [[to him]] all the chief-priests, the elders and 
the scribes. 54 And at a distance Petros had followed him, as 
far as within, to the high-priest's court ; and he was sitting with 
the servants, and warming himself at the fire. 55 And the 
chief-priests and the whole council were seeking evidence 
against Iesous, to put him to death; but were not finding [any]. 
56 For many were offering false testimony against him; but 
their testimonies were not consistent. 57 And some stood up 
and offered false testimony against him, saying : 

58 "We heard him say, 'I shall destroy this sanctuary made 
by hands, and in three days I shall build another not made by 
hands.' " 

59 And not even so was their testimony consistent. 60 
And the high-priest stood up in the midst and interrogated 
Iesous, saying : 

"Do you answer nothing? What [is it] that these [wit- 
nesses] are testifying against you?" 

61 But he was silent, and answered nothing. Again the high- 
priest interrogated him, and says to him : 

"Are you the Anointed, the Son of the Blessed?" 

62 And Iesous said : 

"I am. And 'you shall see the Son of man sitting at the right 
hand of Power, and coming zvith the clouds of the sky/ ' 

63 And the high-priest tore his clothes, and says : 

"What further need have we of witnesses? 64 You have 
heard the impious assertion. How does it seem to you?" 

And they all adjudged him to be liable to the death-sentence. 
65 And some began to spit upon him, and cover up his face, and 
box his ears, and say to him, "Divine [who struck you]." And 
the attendants took him with blows [of their rods]. 

66 And while Petros was sitting below in the court, one of 



558 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

the slave-girls of the high-priest comes, 67 and seeing Petros 
warming himself, she looked at him and says: 

"You also were with the Nazarene Iesous." 

68 But he denied, saying : 

"I neither know nor have any intuition of what you are say- 
ing." 

And he went outside to the exterior court. [[And the cock 
crowed.] ] 69 And the slave-girl saw him, and began again to 
say to the bystanders: 

"This [man] is [one] of them." 

70 And again he denied it. And after a little, again the by- 
standers said to Petros: 

"Really you are [one] of them; for you are a Galilaean [[and 
your dialect is similar]]." 

71 But he began to assert with imprecations and oaths: 
'I do not know this man of whom you are speaking." 

72 And immediately the cock crowed a second time. And 
Petros remembered the saying, how Iesous had said to him, 
"Before the cock crows twice, you will deny me thrice." And 
when he reflected [on the saying], he wept. 

COMMENTARY 

This semi- farcical trial, or rather preliminary examination, 
might well have formed part of the proceedings in a secret so- 
ciety; but it is improbable that it could have taken place before 
the dignified Jewish sanhedrim. In Mark and Matthew Iesous is 
definitely accused of but one crime, blasphemy, for which the Jewish 
law {Lev. xxiv. 12-16) provided the death-penalty; but in Luke 
he is accused also of sedition when the chief-priests bring him before 
the civil magistrate. 

The quotation (verse 62) from the symbolical vision in Daniel 
(vii. 13) refers to the Nous, or Logos, whose fourfold manifested 
powers, personified by the four "beasts" who are regents of the 
zodiacal quarters, are enumerated in the chapter from which the 
quotation is taken. For the "visions" of Daniel, despite later at- 
tempts to convert them into historical prophecies, hold the same 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 559 

secret meanings that are to be found in the "visions" of the Apoca- 
lyptist, and relate wholly to things spiritual. 

Chapter xv. 1-15 

1 And immediately in the morning the chief-priests, with the 
elders and scribes, and the whole council, held a consultation; 
and they bound Iesous, and carried him away, and handed him 
over to Pilate. 2 And Pilate interrogated him : 

"You are the king of the Jews?" 

And he, answering, says to him : 

"You say [it]. [[?]]'" 

3 And the chief-priests kept accusing him of many things. 4 
And Pilate again interrogated him, saying : 

"Do you answer nothing? See how many things they are 
testifying against you." 

5 But Iesous no more answered anything, so that Pilate won- 
dered. 6 Now, at a festival he used to release to them one 
prisoner, [any one] for whom they would intercede. 7 And 
there was the so-called Barabbas, confined with his partisans, 
men who in the insurrection had committed murder. 8 And 
the crowd went up and began to entreat [him to do] as he used 
to do to them. 9 And Pilate answered them, saying: 

"Do you wish I should release to you 'the king of the Jews'?" 

10 For he perceived that [the chief-priests] had handed him 
over through envy. 11 But the chief-priests instigated the 
crowd [to keep asking] that rather he should release Barabbas 
to them. 12 And Pilate again answered and said to them : 

"What, then, [[do you wish that]] I should do to [him 
whom] you call 'the king of the Jews'?" 

13 And again they shouted: 
"Crucify him!" 

14 And Pilate said to them: 

"Why, what offence has he committed ?" 
But they cried out furiously : 
"Crucify him!" 



560 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

15 And Pilate, being disposed to gratify the crowd, released 
to them Barabbas, and handed over Iesous, when he had 
scourged him, to be crucified. 

COMMENTARY 

The account of the trial accorded Iesous by Pilate is even less 
realistic and plausible than that of his examination before the high- 
priest. A Roman governor, who is credited with being unusually 
kind-hearted and merciful, conducts a "trial" in which only accusing 
witnesses are heard, the prisoner standing mute, and no witnesses 
being called in his defence. But even in this one-sided proceeding 
the governor perceives that the jealous priests have no real basis 
for their accusation. He announces his opinion that the prisoner 
is innocent and inoffensive — and then sentences him to death ! More 
than that, this remarkable Roman governor puts aside his official 
dignity and, assuming the degrading duties of a common execu- 
tioner, flogs the prisoner. The wording of the Greek is unequivo- 
cal : Pilate himself flogs Iesous ! That the proud Roman would 
truckle to the rabble, juggle with justice, and dishonor himself and 
his magistracy by publicly wielding the lash, are things hardly to 
be accepted as history. But if the story is non-Roman, it is equally 
non- Jewish. If written by a Jew, the narrative would naturally 
have a few Jewish touches. It has none. 

Ch. xv. 16-41 

16 And the soldiers led him away inside the court (that is, 
the judgment-hall) ; and they call together the whole band. 17 
And they array him in a [kingly] purple robe, and having 
plaited a crown of thorns they put it on him; 18 and they 
began to salute him: 

"Hail, king of the Jews !" 

19 And they struck his head with a reed, and spat on him, 
and bending their knees did homage to him. 20 And when they 
had played this childish game on him, they disrobed him of the 
purple and clothed him in his own garments, and led him out to 
crucify him. 21 And they press into service a passer-by, a cer- 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 561 

tain Simon, a Cyrenian, coming from a field, the father of Alex- 
ander and Rufus, that he might bear his cross. 

22 And they bring him to the Golgotha-place, that is, when 
translated, "Skull-place." 23 And they kept giving him wine 
drugged with myrrh; but he would not take it. 24 And they 
crucify him, and "sort out and distribute" his "garments" among 
themselves, "throwing dice" on them, [to decide] what each 
should take. 25 Now, it was the third hour, and they crucified 
him. 26 And the inscription of his crime was registered, "The 
King of the Jews." 27 And with him they crucify two bandits, 
one at his right hand and one at his left. [[28 And the scrip- 
ture was fulfilled which says, "He was enumerated with [the] 
lawless."]] 29 And the passers-by kept speaking to him abu- 
sively, "shaking their heads" and saying: 

"Aha, destroyer of the sanctuary and builder of it in three 
days, 30 save yourself and come down from the cross !" 

31 In like manner also the chief-priests, playing a children's 
game among themselves, with the scribes, said : 

"He saved others; he can not save himself! 32 Let the 
Anointed, the king of Israel, now come down from the cross, 
that we may see and believe." 

And [the two malefactors] who were crucified with him re- 
proached him. 

33 Now, when the sixth hour came, darkness settled over the 
whole earth until the ninth hour; 34 and at the ninth hour 
Iesous exclaimed in a loud voice : 

''Eloi, Eloij lama sabachthani? " that is, when translated, "My 
God, my God, why hast thou deserted me?" 

35 And some of the bystanders, when they heard it, said : 
"Behold, he is calling to Helias." 

36 And one ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, and having 
put it on a reed, gave him to drink, saying : 

"Let [him keep crying out] : let us see if Helias comes to take 
him down." 

37 And Iesous sent forth a loud cry, and expired. 38 And 
the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. 



562 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

39 Now, when the centurion who stood by opposite him saw 
that he so [[cried out and]] expired, he said: 

"Truly this man was God's Son !" 

40 And there were also women looking on from afar, among 
whom [were] both Mariam the temple-woman, and Mariam the 
mother of the little Iakobos and loses, and Salome, 41 they 
who followed him and served him when he was in Galilee ; and 
many other women who came up with him to Jerusalem. 

COMMENTARY 

Pilate could afford to be utterly undignified; but Simon Petros, 
the fabled first Bishop of Rome, had to be spared the indignity of 
being impressed to carry the cross. Therefore he is changed into 
"a certain Simon, a Cyrenian," even as he had formerly been dis- 
guised as "Simon the leper," and as "a certain bystander" who cut 
off a slave's ear; he thus suffered from the same "disease of the 
personality" that caused Ioudas to lose his identity as "a certain 
young man," and at times to be metamorphosed into Simon. 

The interpolation in verse 24, about the casting of dice over the 
distribution of the garments, is so clumsily inserted that the state- 
ment, "they crucified him," had to be repeated. Apparently the 
forger intended to quote Psalms xxii. 18 as a "prophecy" and claim 
that it was fulfilled, but did not fully carry out his intention upon 
discovering that he had missed his bearings in the manuscript. 

The priests do not simply "mock him among themselves," as the 
authorized version has it. They play a children's game, as did the 
soldiers and the minions of the high-priest. What that "game" was 
is not stated ; but it is discoverable in the text : they pretend to preach 
at the Crucified, using hackneyed proverbs for their texts, as "Physi- 
cian, heal yourself," which in Luke iv. 23 is frankly quoted as a 
"proverb." The verb sozein means both "to heal" and "to save." 
The proverb is not directly quoted here, but is unmistakably referred 
to. Similarly the words, "that we may see and believe," allude to 
the old saw, "Seeing is believing." 

According to Luke one of the two malefactors crucified with 
Iesous reproaches him, while the other repents; but according to 



THE GOOD TIDINGS. ACCORDING TO MARK 563 

Mark and Matthew they both revile him. The former version is 
by far the more dramatic, and it accords with the allegory. 

The pun on Eloi and Hellas is forced and foolish. There is a 
similar one on helios (the sun) and Helias (Elijah) in John i. 21. 

The last words of Iesous, a cry of despair uttered by the unwill- 
ingly sacrificed Son of God, are taken from Psalms xxii. 1, from 
which the forgers also obtained the incident of the soldiers casting 
lots. Better would it have been for Iesous to have accepted the 
drugged wine and gone in stupefaction dumbly to his doom than to 
have broken down and uttered that unmanly cry of anguish, when 
the two thieves stoically endured to the end. Yet a second time the 
soldiers are represented as trying to silence him with drugs and 
alcoholic drink. As dramatists the forgers lacked all artistic instinct. 
Apparently they tried to copy after the magnificent katastrophe of 
Prometheus Chained; but, whereas Prometheus defying the tyrant 
Zeus, the Sire, and calling upon Earth and ^Ether to behold the 
wrongs he suffers, reaches the height of sublimity, the spectacle of 
Iesous reproaching his heavenly Father for having forsaken him 
is only weak and pitiful. On the other hand, it would seem almost 
certain that Aischylos derived his inspiration from the great Eleu- 
sinian Mystery-drama of which the Gospels are a garbled version. 

The credulity ascribed to the centurion is preposterous. There is 
nothing in the story of the crucifixion, as here told, that is out of the 
ordinary, except the darkening of the sky and the rending of the 
curtain of the temple, and the latter the centurion could not have 
seen. The stern Roman soldier, witnessing the crucifixion of a man 
who, in contrast with the two malefactors on either side of him, 
displays no fortitude, promptly decides that he must have been the 
Son of God — instead of being moved to contempt by his pusilla- 
nimity, as a soldier naturally would have been. 

Iakobos and Ioannes are here disguised as "Iakobos the Little" 
and "loses." Their mother, Mariam, manifests a double as "Sa- 
lome" ; for in the text of Matthew Salome is not named, but is called 
the mother of the sojlis of Zebedaios. The devices employed by the 
forgers to conceal the fact that Iesous and his five disciples were all 
sons of Mariam are puerile. 



564 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Ch. xv. 42-47 

42 And evening having now arrived, since it was Prepara- 
tion [-day], that is, [the day] before the sabbath, came Ioseph 
43 (who was from Arimathaea, an influential councillor, who 
also himself was awaiting the kingdom of God) ; and having 
picked up courage, he presented himself before Pilate, and 
asked for the body of Iesous. 44 And Pilate wondered if he 
were already dead; and. having summoned the centurion, he 
questioned him if already he had died. 45 And when he had 
ascertained it from the centurion, he presented the body to 
Ioseph. 46 And he bought a linen cloth, and having taken him 
down, he swathed [him] in the linen cloth, and laid him in a 
monument, which was [a vault] that had been hewn out of a 
rock; and he rolled a stone against the door of the monument. 
47 And Mariam the temple-woman, and Mariam [the mother] 
of loses saw where he was laid. 

COMMENTARY 

Ioseph, the cosmos-builder, father of Iesous, is here made to hail 
from Arimathaea, and is converted into a pious senator and an ad- 
ventist ! He deposits the body of Iesous in a "monument" or "me- 
morial" : the use of this word, fjLvrjfjLelajv, is very peculiar, as it is 
only in the New Testament that it is applied to a tomb, or sepulchre. 
It would apply more correctly to the token which was given each 
candidate after his initiation, and which was buried with him when 
he died. For "loses," in verse 47, some manuscripts have "Ioseph," 
and others "Iakobos." 

Chapter xvi. 1-8 

1 And when the sabbath was past, Mariam the temple- 
woman, and Mariam [the mother] of Iakobos, and Salome, 
brought aromatics, that when they had come they might anoint 
him. 2 And very early on the first day of the week they come 
to the monument at the rising of the sun. 3 And they said 
among themselves : 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 565 

"Who will roll away for us the stone from the door of the 
monument?" 

[[But suddenly at the third hour darkness in the daytime befell 
throughout the whole orb of the earth, and Divinities descended 
from heaven, and rising in the splendor of the living God ascended 
together with him ; and immediately the light returned. Then they 
came to the monument.]] 4 And having looked up, they see 
that the stone has been rolled away; for it was exceedingly 
great. 5 And having entered the monument, they saw a young 
man sitting on the right-hand side, arrayed in a white robe ; and 
they were greatly amazed. 6 But he says to them: 

"Be not amazed. You are seeking for Iesous, the Nazarene, 
who has been crucified. He is risen. He is not here : behold, 
[here is] the place where they laid him! 7 But go say to his 
disciples, and Petros, 'He is going before you into Galilee; there 
you will see him, as he said to you.' " 

8 And they went out [[quickly]], and fled from the monument; 
for trembling and terror possessed them; and they said nothing to 
any one, for they were afraid. 

COMMENTARY 

The Jews had no "week," strictly speaking: they simply num- 
bered the days, after a lunar system, as the first, the second, etc., 
and termed each seventh day (our Saturday) a sabbath, or day of 
rest. The Athenian week consisted of ten days. The phrase in the 
text, Twv crafifidTCDV, "of the sabbaths," is merely imitative of the 
plural name of Hellenic festivals, as Anthesteria, and so is probably 
a pseudo- Jewish substitute for "the seventh day of the festival." 

The "young man" so modestly mentioned here is in Matthew 
described as a resplendent "angel," that is, a God. In Luke, where 
the text has been expanded and elaborately falsified, two men make 
their appearance. It seems that the forgers either failed to perceive, 
or wished to conceal, the fact that this "angel" is the risen Iesous 
appearing in his "body of the resurrection" — the self-luminous solar 
body. 

The message to the disciples is a rank forgery; but, though it is 



566 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

addressed to all the disciples, some later "historian," not content 
with that, has carefully inserted the words "and Petros" ; the impor- 
tance of Petros had to be brought out, even at the risk of the 
ridiculous. 

Ch. xvi. 9-20 

[[9 Now, when he had risen [from the dead], early on the first 
day of the week, he appeared first to Mariam the temple-woman, 
from whom he had cast out seven ghosts. 10 She went and re- 
ported it to those who had been with him, [who were] mourning 
and weeping. 1 1 And they were incredulous when they heard that 
he is alive and has been seen by her. 12 And after these things he 
was manifested in another form to two of them, as they were walk- 
ing, while going into the country. 13 And they went away and 
reported it to the rest; neither did they believe them. 14 After- 
wards he was manifested to the eleven as they were reclining [at 
table], and he reproached their disbelief and hard-heartedness, be- 
cause they had not believed those who had seen him after he had 
risen [from the dead]. [[And they excused themselves, saying 
that this age of lawlessness and disbelief is under Satan, who, 
through the agency of unclean spirits, does not permit the true 
power of God to be apprehended. 

"For this reason," said they to the Anointed, "reveal now at once 
your righteousness." 

And the Anointed said to them : 

"The limit of the years of Satan's authority is [not] fulfilled, but 
it is drawing near. But .... and for the sake of those who have 
sinned, I was delivered up to death, that they may return to the truth 
and sin no more, but may inherit the spiritual and incorruptible 
glory of righteousness in heaven."]] 

15 And he said to them : 

"Go into all the world, and proclaim the good tidings to the whole 
universe. 16 He who believes and is baptized shall be saved ; but he 
who disbelieves shall be damned. 17 And these signs shall go along 
with the believers : in my name they shall cast out ghosts ; they shall 
speak in [[strange]] languages; 18 [[and in their hands]] they 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MARK 567 

shall take up [venomous] snakes, and if they drink any deadly 
[poison], it shall not at all harm them; they shall lay hands on the 
infirm, and they shall get well." 

19 Now therefore the Master [ [Iesous] ] , after speaking to them, 
was taken up into the sky, and sat down at God's right hand. 20 
And they went forth and proclaimed [the good tidings] everywhere, 
the Master working with them, and ratifying the doctrine by the 
signs which are following upon [it]. Amen.]" 

SHORTER ENDING 

[ [And they reported briefly to Petros and his companions all the 
things that had been commanded. After these things also Iesous 
himself sent out through them, from the east even to the west, the 
holy and incorruptible proclamation of the seonian salvation.]] 

COMMENTARY 

The passage from verses 9 to 20, inclusive, is not contained in the 
two oldest known manuscripts, the Vatican and the Sinaitic. It is 
regarded as spurious or doubtful by the ablest textual critics, on the 
authority of the manuscripts. Judging by the internal evidence, it 
is an atrocious forgery. It is held to be genuine only by those 
"believers" who continue to believe, among other things, that "he 
who disbelieves shall be damned" ; but these believers, it should be 
noted, are not ambitious to demonstrate their faith by handling 
rattlesnakes and drinking prussic acid. In place of this ending, 
some manuscripts give the less objectionable "shorter ending," as 
above. The interpolation following verse 14 is from one of the 
oldest manuscripts, the Washington. 



[[THE GOOD TIDINGS]] ACCORDING 
TO MATTHEW 

Chapter i. 1-17 

1 The Book of the Birth of Anointed Iesous, the son of David, 
the Son of Abraham. 

2 Abraham begot Isaac, 
Isaac begot Jacob, 

Jacob begot Judah, (and his brothers !) 

3 Judah begot Perez, (and Zerah of Tamar!) 
Perez begot Hezron, 

Hezron begot Aram, 

4 Aram begot Aminadab, 
Aminadab begot Nashon, 
Nashon begot Salmon, 

5 Salmon begot Boaz, (of Rahab!) 
Boaz begot Obed, (of Ruth !) 
Obed begot Jesse, 

6 Jesse begot David the king; 

David begot Solomon, (of [Bathsheba,] the [wife] of Uriah!) 

7 Solomon begot Rehoboam, 
Rehoboam begot Abijah, 
Abijah begot Asaph, 

8 Asaph begot Johoshaphat, 
Jehoshaphat begot Joram, 

Joram begot [ [Ochozias [ ? Ahaziah], 
Ochozias begot Joash, 
Joash begot] ] Uzziah, 

9 Uzziah begot Jotham, 
Jotham begot Ahaz, 
Ahaz begot Hezekiah; 

10 Hezekiah begot Manasseh, 

568 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 569 

Manasseh begot Amos, 

Amos begot Josiah, 

1 1 Josiah begot [ [ Jehoiakim, 

Jehoiakim begot]] Jechoniah (and his brothers !), at the time of 

the migration to Babylon ; 
J2 and after the migration to Babylon, Jechoniah begot Salathiel, 
Salathiel begot Zerubbabel, 

13 Zerubbabel begot Abiud, 
Abiud begot Eliakim, 
Eliakim begot Azor, 

14 Azor begot Sadoc, 
Sadoc begot Achim, 
Achim begot Eliud, 

15 Eliud begot Eleazar, 
Eleazar begot Matthan, 
Matthan begot Jacob, 

16 Jacob begot Joseph the husband of Mariam, of whom was born 
Iesous, the so-called "Anointed." 

17 Accordingly all the generations from Abraham to David are 
fourteen generations ; and from David to the migration to Babylon, 
fourteen generations; and from the migration to Babylon to the 
Anointed, fourteen generations. 

COMMENTARY 

The opening words, "The Book of the Birth of Anointed Iesous," 
are evidently the title of the spurious account of the birth of Iesous, 
covering everything in the first two chapters, to where the genuine 
allegory begins with the appearance of Ioannes, the hierophant of 
the water-rite ; and they can not, without doing violence to the Greek 
language, be applied to the genealogical table as a special heading. 
The list of the progenitors of Iesous is a later interpolation, which 
in its turn has also been "edited." It fairly bristles with errors. 
Not to mention its minor inaccuracies, as in the transliteration of 
the Hebrew names, it omits three of the ancestors, Ahaziah, Joash 
and Amaziah, thus erroneously giving Joram as the father of 
Uzziah. With these names added (as is done in later copies), the 



570 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

"fourteen generations" swell to seventeen, and with Jehoiakim 
added as a further correction, to eighteen. The third set of "four- 
teen generations" gives only thirteen steps of descent, and there is, 
apparently, a lacuna in verse 16, due to alterations made necessary 
when the story of the antenuptial pregnancy (verses 18-25) was 
foisted in the text. For clearly the table, which gives the genealogy 
of Iesous through Ioseph, was drawn up before the doctrine of 
the supernatural birth had been invented; and therefore the list 
would naturally conclude, as it does in the Syriac Sinaitic, one of 
the oldest known manuscripts, with the words, "Joseph, to whom 
was espoused the virgin Mary, begot Jesus, who is called the Christ." 
Some of the ancient pre- Vulgate Latin manuscripts have the absurd 
reading, "The virgin Mary begot Jesus." When, by the adoption 
of the fable of the divine impregnation, Ioseph was deprived of 
the honor of begetting Iesous, the genealogical table was "edited" 
to make it consistent with the new doctrine, but with the result that 
the table, as it now stands, is merely a tedious and purposeless di- 
gression, failing to show that Iesous was the son of David, or of 
any one else. According to Matthew the Sacred Air (Pneuma) 
begot Iesous; but it seems that the Sacred Air (a female principle, 
by the way) could not boast of a list of Jewish progenitors going 
back to Abraham and even, according to Luke, to God himself ! 

But the most remarkable interpolations in this labored and oft- 
revised genealogical table are those which could only have been 
written into it by a very unorthodox humorist. To the list of male 
progenitors the names of four women have been added, and refer- 
ences also to the "brothers" of Judah and the "brothers" of 
Jechoniah. These details are apparently quite irrelevant ; the more 
so as the wives and brothers of the other progenitors are not 
mentioned. Yet the significance of these interpolations is easily 
discoverable. Tamar, a Syrian, was a widow who disguised herself 
as a prostitute, enticing her father-in-law Judah, to whom she bore 
the twins Perez and Zerah; Rahab, a Canaanitish woman, was a 
common prostitute before she married Salmon; Ruth, a Moabitess, 
was a widow who adopted very immodest tactics in her conquest of 
Boaz ; and Bathsheba, a Hittite, became pregnant by the agency of 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 571 

David while she was the wife of Uriah. The humorist who inserted 
the names of these four non- Jewish women of easy virtue thus 
covertly expressed his opinion that the story of Mary's miraculous 
pregnancy was neither Jewish nor genuine. His interpolation of 
Judah's "brothers" is equally pungent : for the sons of Jacob are the 
signs of the zodiac, as is conclusively shown in Genesis xlix, where 
they are described as such with much detail, Judah himself being 
the sign Leo. Jechoniah had no brothers ; the text is here corrupt, 
doubtless through the error of a copyist, who confused Jechoniah 
with Jehoiakim ; it should therefore read, "Jehoiakim and his broth- 
ers." Jehoiakim was the literary vandal who, as told in Jeremiah 
xxxvi. 21-23, slashed with a knife and burned in a brazier the book 
which Baruch had written from the dictation of Jeremiah. The 
founders and propagandists of Christianity who, in the early cen- 
turies, unscrupulously falsified manuscripts or destroyed them until 
they almost wiped out the world's literature, in order to conceal their 
gigantic fraud in imposing upon the world as sacred history a muti- 
lated mystical drama of the Sun-God, were indeed the "brothers" 
of Jehoiakim. 

Ch. 1. 18-25 

18 Now, the birth of the Anointed [[Iesous]] took place thus: 
when his mother Mariam had been espoused to Ioseph, before they 
had cohabited she was found to have [through impregnation] by 
the sacred Air, a [babe] in her womb. 19 So Ioseph, her husband, 
being a strictly moral man, and [yet] not wishing to make an exam- 
ple of her, resolved to divorce her without publicity. 20 And as he 
was carefully considering these matters, behold, a Divinity of the 
Master appeared to him in a dream, saying : 

"Ioseph, son of David, do not fear to take to yourself your wife 
Mariam; for the [babe] which is nascent within her is from the 
sacred Air. 21 And she shall bear a son, and you shall call his 
name Iesous, for he it is who from their sins shall save his people." 

22 Now, all this befell that fulfilled might be the promise by the 
Master through the prophet, saying : 



572 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

23 "Behold, the virgin shall have [an embryo'] in her womb, and 

shall bear a son, 
And they shall call his name 'EmmanoneV " — 

that is, when translated, "God with us." 24 And Ioseph awoke 
from his sleep, and did as the Master's Divinity had commanded 
him, and took to himself his wife; 25 but he did not know hex 
[carnally] until she had borne a son, [[her first-born;]] and he 
called his name Iesous. 

COMMENTARY 

In the primitive social system of the ancient Jews one form of 
espousal was solemnized by cohabitation, being in effect a trial mar- 
riage; but in the more enlightened period from which Christianity 
takes its date such intimacy was unlawful, and even the bride-to-be 
who became enceinte before marriage was liable to the penalty of 
death. Reform schools and the like had not been instituted; but 
stones were plentiful, and when directed with unerring aim and 
adequate velocity could be depended upon in vindicating the majesty 
of the law and ridding the community of illegally pregnant women. 
But in the case of Ioseph and Mariam the distinction between the 
engagement and the marriage is so finely drawn that the text seems 
to have been tampered with. Quite probably in the original fiction 
Ioseph and Mariam were said to be really married ; and the espousal 
was an afterthought clumsily woven into the story by merely chang- 
ing the word "married" to "espoused." No mention is made, either 
here or in Luke, of any marriage ceremony, though marriage among 
the Jews was a somewhat elaborate affair; indeed Luke (ii. 5, 6) 
leaves it to be inferred that the babe was born out of wedlock. But 
if the couple were only engaged, the disclaimer as to their "coming 
together" would be, in view of the strict morality ascribed to Ioseph, 
not only redundant but even an unkind remark. The forgers had 
neither delicacy nor artistic realism. 

Undoubtedly the statement in verse 18 was, originally, only that 
Mariam was found to be pregnant; the qualifying clause, "by the 
holy Pneuma," may safely be credited to an unusually stupid inter- 
polator, who has made similar "emendations" elsewhere in the text, 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 573 

as in Mark xi. 13, where he exonerates the figless tree by explaining 
that it was not yet the season for figs. Those who first noticed the 
condition of Mariam could hardly have discovered so promptly the 
agency of the Pneuma; nor, if they had, would Ioseph have been 
left in ignorance of it until his mind was set at rest by the Divinity. 
For the annunciation to Mariam by Gabriel (the Regent of the 
Scorpio-quarter of the zodiac, presiding over generation) has no 
place in Matthezv, that being a happy inspiration in the fertile mind 
of the compiler of Luke. But the astute Lake eludes the absur- 
dity of making the Pneuma the father of Iesous by having Mariam 
overshadowed by the creative "power of the Highest ( wJiiotos)," 
a title, however, which would naturally mislead an unenlightened 
pagan into thinking that it was applied, as usual, to Zeus, who sat 
on the highest of the twelve Olympian peaks. For, as Lake very 
probably kneAV, the -"Holy Ghost" was a feminine principle and in- 
capable of becoming a father. In point of fact, Mariam herself is 
but a personification of the Pneuma, or primordial element. Indis- 
putably the early Christians regarded the Pneuma as the Mother of 
Iesous; it was only when the progressive ignorance of the theolo- 
gians had reached an appalling density that She became his Father. 
If 'EfjLfjiavoinjk is correctly rendered "God with us," it fails to 
connect with 'Irjcrovs ; for the best the lexicographers can do with 
the latter word is to transliterate it into Ychoshua, utilizing the 
remarkable flexibility of theological Hebrew, and then speculate as 
to whether it means "Savior" or "whose help is Jehovah." But 
"Jehovah" is not a Hebrew word; it is only a combination of con- 
sonants, the animating vowels having been hopelessly lost, and as 
only two of the three consonants in the combination can be relied 
upon, the other one being a matter of dispute, it is not surprising 
that a wide diversity of opinion obtains as to the meaning of the 
"word." The quotation from Isaiah (vii. 14) should read: "The 
Lord himself will give you a sign : behold, the Virgin is with child 
and bears a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." This "sign," 
according to verse 11, may be "either in the depth, or in the height 
above." In the latter, the sky-vault, it is the zodiacal Virgin, and 
her pregnancy is agricultural, relating to the autumnal season, as 



574 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

symbolized by the ripened grain she holds in her hand; while "in 
the depth," that is, on earth, she is the "Woman clothed with the 
Sun" of the Apocalypse, and her son, the new-born initiate who 
has become one with his eternal Self, is very appropriately named 
"God with us." The language of Isaiah is mystical throughout; for 
he goes on to speak of an Egyptian fly, an Assyrian bee, a razor, a 
cow and two sheep, with other things, all of which would be quite 
fantastic in a prophecy of the physical birth of an historical Iesous. 
The birth of the Sun-God at the winter solstice, when Virgo is upon 
the eastern horizon, is another matter. 

Chapter ii. 1-12 

1 Now, when Iesous was born in Bethlehem of Judaea, in the 
days of Herod the king, behold, Magi from the Orient came to 
Jerusalem, saying : 

2 "Where is the baby king of the Jews? For we have seen his 
star in the sunrising, and have come to make obeisance to him." 

3 But when Herod' the king heard of it he was agitated, and all 
Jerusalem with him. 4 And having gathered together all the chief- 
priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the 
Anointed is born. 5 And they said to him : 

"In Bethlehem of Judaea ; for thus it is written by the seers : 

6 'And thou, Bethlehem, land of Judah, 

Art by no means least among the governors of Judah; 
For out of thee shall come forth a leader 
Who shall shepherd my people Israel/ " 

7 Then Herod secretly summoned the Magi and learned of them 
with accuracy the time of the seeming star; 8 and he sent them to 
Bethlehem and said : 

"Go and inquire accurately about the baby, and as soon as you 
find [him] bring back word to me, that I also may come and make 
obeisance to him." 

9 And they, having heard the king, departed; and, behold, the 
star which they saw in the sunrising kept going before them, until it 
came and stood still above [the place] where the baby was. 10 And 
they were in transports of joy when they saw the star. 11 And 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 575 

they came into the house and found the baby with Mariam his 
mother ; and they fell down and made obeisance to him ; and having 
opened their caskets they presented him with gifts— gold, frankin- 
cense and myrrh. 12 And having been occultly warned in a dream 
not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country by 
another road. 

COMMENTARY 

The spurious portions of the text, written as they were by ig- 
norant men, have no undermeaning save when they contain frag- 
ments of ancient myths which the forgers borrowed and adapted in 
fabricating their "history." The astronomical version usually given 
of the story of the Magi and the star is that the Magi are the three 
stars in the belt of Orion, anciently called "the three kings," which 
are in direct line with Sirius, so that when Orion rises, at the time 
of the winter solstice, these stars are apparently pointing at Sirius 
when it rises in the east, seemingly as the herald of the sun, which 
was said to be "born" at this time, because the days begin to 
lengthen. It is quite certain, however, that the author of this story, 
however freely he may have appropriated incidents from solar 
myths, was not weaving an allegory, but was industriously writing 
"history." The star which remained stationary must have been 
very close to the earth's surface to indicate the precise locality where 
the baby was born. Herod undoubtedly had efficient spies in his 
service, and so could readily have discovered the whereabouts of the 
baby whom he considered a claimant of the throne, and that without 
any assistance from the Magi and the marvellous star, which, 
whether it was the Dog-star, an astrological planet or a will-o'-the- 
wisp, belonged to Iesous, since it is called "his star." 

The quotation from Micah (v. 2) is reworded to suit the pur- 
pose of the forgers. The prophecy in Micah states that the ruler to 
be born in Bethlehem would lay waste the land of Assyria with the 
sword, and would deliver the Jews from the invading Assyrians 
(verses 5, 6) ; and only a very lively imagination can make this mar- 
tial leader prefigure Iesous, many centuries before whose day the 
Assyrians had ceased to be troublesome. 



576 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Ch. ii. 13-18 

13 And when they had gone back, behold, a Divinity of the Mas- 
ter appeared in a dream to Ioseph, saying : 

" Arise, take the baby and his mother with you, and flee into 
Egypt, and stay there until I tell you ; for Herod purposes to search 
for the baby and kill him." 

14 And he arose and took the baby and his mother by night, and 
withdrew into Egypt, 15 and was there until Herod's death, that 
it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Master through the 
prophet, saying: 

"I have called my son out of Egypt." 

16 Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the 
Magi, was greatly enraged, and he sent forth [soldiers], and put to 
death all the boys that were in Bethlehem and in all its borders, 
from two years old and under, according to the time which he had 
accurately inquired of the Magi. 17 Then was fulfilled that which 
was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying : 
18 "In Ramah was heard a voice, 

[ [Lamentation,'] ] weeping and great mourning, 

Rachel zveeping for her children; 

And she would not be consoled, because they are not." 

COMMENTARY 

The story of the slaughter of the male infants at Bethlehem is too 
extravagant to merit serious consideration. As the forgers do not 
appear to have been capable of original invention, it is probable 
that they adapted the incident from some ancient legend or fable. 

Prophecies and their triumphant fulfilment were a mania with the 
forgers, and one of their methods was to manufacture both the 
prophecy and the event foretold. Hosea xi. 1 reads : "When Israel 
was a child, then I loved him, and called my son out of Egypt." 
Here the "son" is Israel, and the reference is to a past event, the 
flight of the Israelites from Egypt. The "children" of Rachel re- 
ferred to in Jeremiah xxxi. 15 were the tribes of Ephraim and 
Manasseh, who were carried into captivity, but who were, according 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 577 

to the prophet, to "come again to their own border" ; the mourning 
Rachel of the prophet is only a poetic figure, but as employed in 
Matthew the whole quotation is the veriest nonsense. Even if, by 
the wildest flight of a disordered imagination, it is regarded as a 
"prophecy," the two deported tribes representing the butchered 
babes, and Rachel personifying their bereaved mothers, it is still 
difficult to account for her going to Ramah to weep, as Ramah was 
distant over twelve miles from Bethlehem, the scene of the mas- 
sacre. 

Ch. 11. 19-23 

19 But when Herod was dead, behold, a Divinity of the Master 
appears in a dream to Ioseph in Egypt, 20 saying : 

"Arise and take with you the little boy and his mother, and go 
into the land of Israel ; for they Avho were seeking the little boy's life 
are dead." 

21 And he arose and took with him the little boy and his mother, 
and came into the land of Israel. 22 But having heard that Arche- 
laus is reigning over Judaea in his father Herod's stead, he was 
afraid to go there; and having been divinely instructed in a dream, 
he withdrew into the districts of Galilee, 23 and came and dwelt 
in a city called Nazaret, so that it should be fulfilled which was 
spoken through the prophets, "He shall be called a Nazorsean." 

COMMENTARY 

If Ioseph had not been a cautious man, and an exceptionally good 
dreamer, the misleading information imparted to him by the 
Divinity might have led to the sharing by Iesous of the fate of the 
babes of Bethlehem. Were it not that the Divinity is called "a 
Divinity of the Lord," one would be justified in classifying him with 
the untruthful Divinities of the Adversary; for Archelaus was pro- 
claimed king before his father was buried, and had Ioseph relied on 
the Divinity's statement he would have returned to Bethlehem, 
whither he was evidently journeying when he heard of Archelaus. 
It was certainly very appropriate that he should be divinely in- 
structed in a dream how to reach Nazaret, for that city belongs 



578 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

exclusively to dreamland. It is nowhere mentioned in ancient litera- 
ture save in the Gospels, in which its name is variously spelled. 
There is no extant prophecy referring to Iesous as a "Nazarene" ; 
nor, in fact, is there any prophecy referring to him in any way. 

Chapter hi. 1-12 

1 Now, in those days Ioannes the Lustrator arrives, making 
proclamation in the desert of Judaea, saying : 

2 "Reform ye ; for the kingdom of the skies has drawn near !" 

3 For this [forerunner] is he who was spoken of through Isaiah 
the prophet, saying : 

"The voice of one who in the desert keeps shouting, 
'The Master's way prepare ye, 
Make ye his pathways straight,' " 

4 Now Ioannes' self usually wore a camel-hair mantle, and a 
leathern belt about his loins, and his food was locusts and wild 
honey. 5 Then were going out to him Jerusalem, and all 
Judaea, and all the country around the Jordan; 6 and they 
were lustrated by him in the Jordan river, their sins confessing. 
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees going 
against his lustral rite, he said to them: 

"O brood of vipers, who secretly warned you to flee from the 
frenzy impending? 8 Produce, therefore, fruits worthy of re- 
form, 9 and think not to say within yourselves, 'We have 
Abraham for our father' ; for I say to you, From these stones 
God is able to raise up children to Abraham. 10 And even now 
the axe is being applied to the root of the trees ; therefore every 
tree that does not produce good fruit is being cut down and 
thrown into the fire. 11 I, indeed, lustrate you in Water to 
reformation; but the [Lustrator] who is coming after me is 
mightier than I, whose sandals I am not strong enough to 
carry: he shall lustrate you with sacred Air and Fire; 12 
whose winnowing-fan is in his hand, and he will cleanse thor- 
oughly his threshing-floor, and will gather his wheat into his 
granary, but the chaff he will burn up with unquenchable fire." 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 579 
COMMENTARY 

The compiler of Matthew displays more bitterness against the 
dummy Pharisees who are made to figure in the "history" than do 
the other Synoptists; and here he has allowed part of Ioannes' 
denunciation of them to retain its proper place in the text, while 
eliminating the three other castes and transferring the discourses of 
Ioannes to them to the "Sermon on the Mount" and other discourses 
of Iesous. If the Pharisees and Sadducees were "coming to" the 
baptism of Ioannes, as translated in the authorized version, his dis- 
courteous words to them would seem to be unwarranted ; but ipx°" 
fievovs iiri here seems to be used for iirep^o^evovs, in the sense 
of "going against" or "attacking." The many solecisms in the 
text bring to mind the words of Diogenes : "Do you not see that 
since these sprinklings can not repair your grammatical errors, they 
can not repair, either, the faults of your life?" 

Here, as in Luke, Iesous is described as the Fan-bearer, Dionysos ; 
and the curious phraseology of the passage would indicate that it is 
a quotation, unskilfully turned into prose, from a poem. 

Ch. hi. 13-17 

13 Then Iesous arrives from Galilee at the Jordan, to Ioan- 
nes, that he might be lustrated by him. 14 But Ioannes tried 
to restrain him, saying : 

"I have need to be lustrated by you, and do you come to me?" 

15 But Iesous, answering, said to him: 

"Let [me be consecrated] now; for thus it is befitting for us 
to comply with every essential formality." 

Then he let him [be consecrated]. [[And when he was lus- 
trated a very great light shone around from the water, so that 
all who approached were afraid.]] 16 And Iesous, when he 
had been lustrated, immediately rose up from the water, and 
behold, the skies were opened [ [to him] ], and he saw God's Air 
descending like a dove [[and]] coming upon him; 17 and 
behold, a voice from the sky said: 

"This is my beloved Son, of whom I have approved." 



580 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Chapter iv. i-ii 

i Then Iesous was led up into the desert by the Air, to be 
made trial of by the Accuser. 2 And when he had fasted forty 
days and forty nights, he afterwards was hungry. 3 And the 
Trier came and said to him : 

"If you are a Son of God, command that these stones become 
loaves of bread." 

4 But he answered and said : 

"It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every 
word that goes out through the mouth of God.' " 

5 Then the Accuser takes him into the sacred city ; and he set him 
on a battlement of the temple, 6 and says to him : 

"If you are a Son of God, hurl yourself down ; for it is written : 
" ( He shall give his Divinities charge concerning thee'; 
"and, 

" 'They shall lift you up in their hands, 

Lest ever you strike your foot against a stone/ " 

7 Iesous said to him : 
"Again it is written : 

" 'Thou shalt not make trial of thy Master-God.' " 

8 Again the Accuser takes him to a very lofty mountain, and 
showed him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them; 
9 and he said to him : 

"I will confer on you all of these things, if you will fall down and 
worship me." 

10 Then says Iesous to him : 

"Begone, Adversary! For it is written: 'Thy Master-God thou 
shalt worship, and him alone shalt thou serve.' " 

11 Then the Accuser leaves him; and behold, Divinities 
came and served up [a banquet] to him. 

* COMMENTARY 

The fine hand of the interpolator who inserted the reason for the 
fig-tree's barrenness is here discernible in the added words, "and 
forty nights" : the loose statement that Iesous fasted "forty clays" 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 581 

might have left room for the suspicion that he fasted only in the 
daytime! In modern times a fast of forty days is not regarded as 
very wonderful; and longer ones are recorded. But in Mark no 
mention is made of the fast, and the trials imposed by the Accuser 
are not particularized. The three tests described in Matthew and 
Luke, with their strained quotations from the Old Testament, are of 
a puerile kind, and are obviously the work of the forgers : Iesous re- 
fuses to transmute stones into bread because he should live on God's 
words as well as on bread (a curious bit of reasoning), he declines 
the invitation to leap from the battlements of the temple, and he can 
not be bribed to worship the Devil, who is represented to be the 
owner of all the kingdoms of this world. The "temptation" to hurl 
himself from the battlements, to see whether or not the Gods would 
sustain him in the air, would not appeal to any sane mind. The 
forger who invented this absurd test evidently conceived the notion 
when reading up Jewish matters in the pages of Josephus, who says 
{Antiquities, xv. 11. 5) that the cloister on the south front of the 
temple surmounted a deep valley, so that if one looked down from 
the top of the battlements his sight could not reach to the bottom of 
the immense depth, and he would become giddy. Here, as in a 
number of other instances, the forgers derived their "inspiration" 

from Josephus. 

Ch. iv. 12-25 

12 Now when [[Iesous]] heard that Ioannes had been 
handed over, he withdrew into Galilee; 13 and forsaking 
Nazaret, he came and resided in Kapernaum, which is a sea- 
coast [city], on the borders of Zebulun and Naphtali, 14 that 
[the prediction] might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah 
the seer, saying: 

15 "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali 
[By the] ivay of the sea, beyond the Jordan, 
Galilee of the Nations, 

16 The people who were dwelling in darkness 
Saw a great light, 

And to those who were dwelling in Death's domain and shadow, 
To them [the] light has spread.'' 



582 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

17 Henceforth Iesous began to proclaim [the good tidings] 
and to say: 

"Reform ye, for the kingdom of the skies has drawn near!" 

18 And walking beside the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon (the 
so-called Petros) and Andreas, his brother, casting a dragnet 
into the sea; for they were fishermen. 19 And he says to 
them: 

"Come, [follow] after me, and.I shall make you fishers of 
men. 

20 And they immediately left their nets and went along with 
him. 21 And having gone on from there, he saw two other 
brothers, Iakobos, the [son] of Zebedaios, and Ioannes, his 
brother, in the ship with Zebedaios, their father, mending their 
nets; and he called them. 22 And they immediately left the 
ship and their father, and went along with him. 

23 And [[Iesous]] went about in all Galilee, teaching in their 
synagogues, and proclaiming the good tidings of the kingdom, and 
healing all diseases and all bodily weakness among the people. 24 
And the report about him went out into all Syria, and they brought 
to him all who were ill, afflicted with various diseases and torments, 
possessed by evil spirits, and lunatics, and paralytics ; and he healed 
them. 25 And great crowds followed him from Galilee, Dekapolis, 
Jerusalem and Judaea, and [the regions] beyond the Jordan. 

COMMENTARY 

The garbled quotation from Isaiah (ix. 1, 2) can hardly be con- 
sidered a "prophecy," since it is written in the past tense, referring 
to events that had taken place "in the former time" and "in the 
latter time." 

Astronomically Andreas and Simon, the regents of Aquarius and 
Pisces, in the region of the Ocean-God, are appropriately repre- 
sented as fishermen; but Iakobos and Ioannes, the regents of Taurus 
and Gemini, in the region of the Sky-God, are not in a fishing-boat 
but in the Ship Argo. The next disciple to be called is Ioudas, the 
regent of Aries, who is found "sitting," presumably in Cassiopeia's 
Chair, a northern paranatellon of Aries. But the forgers, having 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 583 

converted Ioudas into Matthias-Levi, a "publican" sitting at "the 
place of toll," have separated the call of the fifth disciple from that 
of the four by interpolating irrelevant matter; and here Matthew 
inserts the so-called Sermon on the Mount, which is composed, for 
the most part, of passages taken from the discourses of Ioannes, 
and of odds and ends of other discourses for which the compiler 
could find no other place. 

Chapter v. 1-12 

I And seeing the crowds, he went up into the mountain; and 
when he had sat down, his disciples came to him, 2 and he 
opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 

3 "Beatified are the supplicants in the Air: for theirs is the 
kingdom of the skies. 

4 "Beatified are the mourners: for they shall be inspirited. 

5 "Beatified are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 

6 "Beatified are they who hunger and thirst after justice: 
for they shall be feasted. 

7 "Beatified are the merciful: for they shall find mercy. 

8 "Beatified are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. 

9 "Beatified are the peacemakers: for they shall be called 
Sons of God. 

10 "Beatified are they who have been persecuted on account of 
[their] moral rectitude : for theirs is the kingdom of the skies. 

II "Beatified are ye when [your enemies] shall revile you, and 
persecute you, and (being liars) shall say every wicked [[word]] 
against you, on my account. 12 Rejoice, and exult : for great [shall 
be] your reward in the skies; for in this way [the exoteric priests] 
persecuted the seers who [lived] before you. 

COMMENTARY 

There appears to be hardly a doubt that the compiler of Mat- 
thew utilized, in the construction of this long discourse, a collection 
of "sayings" (logia) of Iesous, which are here strung together 
without any general plan. Many of them appear elsewhere in the 
text of the Synoptics, in connection with various incidents ; and this 



5 8 4 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

results in many curious repetitions in Matthew. This patchwork 
construction of the text is shown by the fact that the Synoptics con- 
tain in the discourses of Iesous about forty repeated sayings which 
are given in different ''historical" connections. 

The rendering "poor in spirit" gives the first beatitude the mean- 
ing that the Divine Vision is conferred upon those who are destitute 
of spirit — that is, mean-spirited, or craven-spirited. But the ptochoi 
(literally "cringers") are "beggars," and clearly the word is ap- 
plied here to those who make their petition in the mighty Air — the 
yEther. 

The third beatitude would more nearly express the truth if "pre- 
dacious" were substituted for "meek." 

The last two beatitudes, which dwell on the blessedness of being 
persecuted and reviled, are written in a different tense from the 
others, are in another key, and are obviously untrue. Whatever 
may be the fiendish joy of the persecutor in inflicting misery upon 
his victims, it is quite certain that being persecuted is not a blissful 
experience, and it can not be regarded as bestowing the divine 
consciousness, the "kingdom of heaven." 

Ch. v. 13-16 

13 "You are the salt of the earth ; but if the salt becomes insipid, 
with what shall it be salted ? It is fit for nothing any more, but to 
be thrown outside to be trampled on by men. 14 You are the light 
of the world. A city situated on a mountain can not be hid. 15 
Neither do they light a lamp, and put it under the grain- 
measure, but on the lampstand; and it shines for all who are 
in the house. 16 Thus let your light shine before men, so that 
they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who 
is in the skies. 

COMMENTARY 

Salt is a more stable chemical compound than the forgers imag- 
ined ; but even if it were subject to deterioration by losing its salt- 
ness, the abrupt transition from the beatitudes to sodium chloride, 
and from that to a city on a mountain, is bewildering. Luke com- 
plicates the subject by converting the salt into a fertilizer. 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 585 

Ci-I. v. 17-26 

17 "Think not that I came to abolish the law or the seers. 
I came, not to abolish, but to complete [them]. 18 For, amen, 
I say to you, Until the sky and the earth shall pass away, not 
a single iota or a single accent shall pass away from [the text 
of] the law, until all things come to pass. 19 Therefore who- 
ever shall relax one of these very little commandments, and 
teach men so, shall be accounted very little in the kingdom of 
the skies; but whoever shall practise and teach them, this [dis- 
ciple] shall be accounted great in the kingdom of the skies. 20 
For I say to you, Unless your morality is not more unstinted 
than [that] of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter 
into the kingdom of the skies at all. 

21 "You have heard that it was said to the people of old, 
'Thou shalt not commit murder, but whoever shall commit mur- 
der shall be liable to the judgment' ; 22 but I say to you, Every 
one who is angry with his brother [ [rashly] ] shall be liable to 
the judgment; and whoever shall say to his brother, f Raka/ 
shall be liable to the council; and whoever shall say, 'You fool,' 
shall be liable to the Hinnom-valley of fire. 23 If therefore you 
are offering your oblation at the altar, and there remember that your 
brother has something against you, 24 leave there your oblation 
before the altar, and go away; first be reconciled to your brother, 
and then come and offer your oblation. 2.5 Be kindly disposed 
towards the party opposed to you quickly, until you are on the 
[right] way with him, lest the opponent hand you over to the judge, 
and the judge [ [hand you over] ] to the officer, and you are thrown 
into prison. 26 Amen, I say to you, You shall not at all come out 
from thence until you pay the last copper. 

COMMENTARY 

The exaggerated statement about the integrity of the text of the 
Jewish moral code is a curiosity in a "Gospel" which contains for- 
geries on every page. Crude as that code is, it was probably well 
adapted to the primitive people for whom it was enacted ; but some 



586 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

of the more stringent rules of morality in this discourse apply only 
to religious ascetics, and are quite impracticable for the masses. 
Laws against the crimes mentioned in the text were, of course, com- 
mon to all civilized and semi-civilized nations. The higher code, laid 
down for all candidates for initiation into the Mysteries, or esoteric 
religion, is here indiscriminately imposed on the rabble; and the 
priest- forgers have tacked on some of their own peculiar notions 
on the subject of ethics. 

Ch. v. 27-32 

27 "You have heard that it was said [ [to the people of old] ], 
'Thou shalt not commit adultery* ; 28 but I say to you, Every 
one who looks on a woman to lust after her has committed 
adultery with her already in his heart. 29 But if your right 
eye is an impediment to you, gouge it out, and throw it away from 
you : for it is expedient for you that one of your members should 
perish, and not your whole body be thrown into the Hinnom-valley. 
30 And if your right hand is an impediment to you, amputate it, 
and throw it away from you : for it is expedient for you that one 
of your members should perish, and not your whole body depart 
into Hinnom-valley. 31 It was said also, 'Whoever divorces his wife, 
let him give her a deed of divorce' ; 32 but I say to you, Whoever 
divorces his wife, except on account of fornication, causes her to 
commit adultery, [[and whoever marries a divorced woman com- 
mits adultery] ] . 

COMMENTARY 

Fortunately for "professing Christians," their faith is not robust 
enough for them to accept, other than theoretically, some of the 
morbid doctrines written into the Gospels by monkish fanatics ; for 
if the doctrine inculcated here should be conscientiously followed 
a large proportion of the orthodox Christians would be one-eyed 
and one-armed. The passage about gouging out the offending eye 
and amputating the offending arm is literally translated, and even 
the able translators of the "authorized" version have failed to soften 
its uncompromising brutality or mask its imbecility. It is no syllep- 
tical figure of speech, no poetic hyperbole, but a solemn injunction 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 587 

winding up with a significant allusion to that "ninncm-valley" (gey 
hinnom) which even the revisers construe as plain ''hell," though 
with a cautious foot-note to inform the reader that it is Gehenna in 
the text. But the orthodox have sensibly taken their chances on 
Hinnom-valley, whatever it may be, rather than sacrifice their re- 
bellious corporeal members. In the matter of reasonable laws of 
divorce, however, the progress of civilization has been impeded by 
the bigoted priesthood. The true rule of morality stated in the text 
prohibits unbridled lust within the marriage relation as well as 
outside of it; and marriage may be, and often is, a cover for im- 
morality as gross as adultery, and a thousand times more to be 
deplored than divorce. 

Ch. v. 33-48 

33 "Again, you have heard that it was said to the people of old, 
'Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but thou shalt discharge to the 
Master thine oaths' ; 34 but I say to you. Do not swear at all ; 
neither by 'the sky/ for 'it is God's throne' ; 35 nor by 'the earth,' 
for 'it is a footstool for his feet' ; nor in [the temple] of Jerusalem, 
for it is 'the city of the great King.' 36 Neither shall you swear 
by your head, for you can not make one hair white or black. 37 Let 
your style of speaking be, 'Yes, yes, No, no' ; and whatever is in 
excess of these is wicked. 

38 "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and 
a tooth for a tooth'; 39 but I say to you, Do not resist the 
wicked [assailant] ; but whoever strikes you on the right cheek, 
turn to him the other also. 40 And to him who is disposed to 
bring an action at law against you and take your tunic, give 
up to him your cloak also. 41 And whoever shall press you 
into service to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to him 
who begs of you ; and turn not away from him who wishes to 
borrow from you. 

43 "You have heard that it was said, 'Thou shalt love thy 
neighbor, and hate thine enemy'; 44 but I say to you, Love 
your enemies, [[bless those who curse you, treat nobly those 
who hate you,]] and pray for those who [[insult you and]] perse- 



588 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

cute you; 45 that you may become sons of your Father who is in 
the skies; for Vie causes his sun to rise on the bad and the good, 
and sends rain on the just and the unjust. 46 For if you love 
those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the 
tax-collectors do that very thing? 47 And if you affectionately 
greet your brothers only, what are you doing that is extraordinary? 
Do not even the heathens do that very thing? 48 You shall be 
perfect, therefore, even as your Father celestial is perfect. 

COMMENTARY 

The prohibition of oaths is sensible; but the theological argu- 
ments on the subject, despite the quotations from the Jewish scrip- 
tures, are incurably lame. To say that the sky, the earth and Jeru- 
salem belong to God gives no reason why a man should not swear by 
them; nor does it follow that because he is unable to change the 
color of his hair he should not swear by his head. The doctrines of 
non-resistance to enemies, and of universal love, represent true ethi- 
cal principles; but the dilating comments, which are written in the 
crudest vernacular, merely detract from their force. 

Chapter vi. 1-15 

1 "Take heed not to practise your morality before men in order 
that it may be seen by them; otherwise you have no reward with 
your Father who is in the skies. 2 When, therefore, you do a deed 
of charity, do not blow a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do 
in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be glorified by 
men. Amen, I say to you, They are having their full reward. 3 
But when you are doing a charitable deed, do not let your left hand 
know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your charity may 
be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret shall recompense 
you [[openly]]. 

5 "And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites; for 
they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and in the street- 
corners, so that they may be conspicuous to men. Amen, I say to 
you, They are having their full reward. 6 But do you, when you 
pray, 'enter into your treasure-vault, and having shut your door, 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 589 

pray' to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in 
secret shall recompense you [[openly]]. 7 But when praying, do 
not babble like the barbarians, for they conceit that by wordiness 
they will be understood. 8 Therefore do not become like them ; for 
[ [God] ] your Father knows the things which you need, before you 
ask him. 9 Thus, then, do you pray: 

Thou in the skies, our Father! 
Consecrated be thy name; 

10 Established be thy realm; 
Accomplished be thy will — 

As in the sky, also on the earth. 

1 1 Our bread for the morrow destined 

This day bestow upon us. 

12 And forgive us our debts, 

As we also have forgiven our debtors ; 

13 And carry us not into temptation; 

But shield us from the Evil [Genius]. 
[ [For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory. 

throughout the aeons. Amen.]] 
14 For if you forgive men their misdeeds, your celestial Father will 
also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their misdeeds, 
neither will your Father forgive your misdeeds. 

COMMENTARY 

Elsewhere in the discourse (v. 16) it is said that good works 
should be done publicly, so that men seeing them might glorify God ; 
but here the Pharisees are denounced for doing that very thing, 
because to them and not to God men gave the glory. Also the 
vicious doctrine of rewards is inculcated. A good deed done in 
expectation of a reward is good only in outer seeming, and not in 
the motive. Yet even prayer, according to the forgers, may be vir- 
tuously inspired by selfish motives. 

The first seven lines of the prayer are superb; but the remaining 
four are in every way inferior. Two of these last lines begin limp- 
ingly with "and," while all four are longer, in the Greek, and lack 
the sonorous and impressive qualities of the preceding lines. The 



590 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

word used for "will" (thelema) and "temptation" (peirasmos) are 
ecclesiastical Greek; and epiousion, here translated "for the mor- 
row," is a coined word of somewhat uncertain meaning. The doxo- 
logical ending is unquestionably a later addition; but it is not an 
objectionable one. The loose assertion that the prayer was taken 
from the Talmud is baseless : when carefully compared with the Tal- 
mudic prayers, it is found to be non- Jewish in style. 

Ch. vi. 16-34 

16 "And whenever you may be fasting, do not become like the 
sour-visaged hypocrites; for they make their faces unsightly, that 
they may strike the sight of men as those who are fasting. Amen, 
I say to you, They are having their full reward. 17 But do you, 
when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face, 18 that you 
may not strike the sight of men as one who is fasting, but of your 
Father, who is in secret ; and your Father, who sees in secret, will 
recompense you [[openly]]. 

19 "Do not amass for yourselves treasures on the earth, 
where moth and rust consume, and thieves dig through and 
steal ; 20 but amass for yourselves treasures in the sky, where 
neither moth nor rust consumes, and where thieves do not dig 
through and steal: 21 for where your treasure is, there will 
be your heart also. 22 The lamp of the body is the eye : there- 
fore, if your eye is single, your whole body will be illuminated ; 
23 but if your eye is unsound, your whole body will be dark. 
If, then, the light which is in you is darkness, how great is that 
darkness! 24 No one can serve two masters: for either he will 
dislike the one and respect the other, or he will cleave to the 
one and look down upon the other. You can not serve God 
and Mamon. 25 For this reason I say to you, Do not con- 
centrate your mind on the psychic self, what you should eat, 
[[or what you should drink]] ; nor on your body, what you 
should put on. Is not the psychic self more than the food, and 
the body than the raiment? 26 Consider the birds of the sky, 
that they do not reap, nor do they gather into granaries; and 
your Father celestial feeds them. Are you not of much greater 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 591 

value than they ? 27 And which of you is able by mental con- 
centration to add one cubit to his stature ? 28 And why do you 
concentrate the mind on raiment? 29 Consider the lilies of the 
field, how they grow ; they do not toil, nor do they spin : but I 
say to you, Not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like 
one of these. 30 But if God thus arrays the herbage of the 
field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is thrown into the oven, 
[shall he] not much rather [array] you, ye scant-faiths? 31 
Therefore do not be concerned, saying, 'What shall we eat?' 
or, 'What shall we drink?' or, 'With what shall we be clothed?' 

32 For the heathens keep asking for all these things ; for your 
celestial Father knows that you have need of all these things. 

33 But seek first the kingdom [[of God]], and his justice; and 
all these things shall be added to you. 34 Therefore do not be 
concerned about the morrow; for the morrow will be concerned 
about itself. Sufficient for the day is its [own] trouble. 

COMMENTARY 

Between the hypocrite who fasts ostentatiously and the man who 
pretends not to be fasting in order to be rewarded, whether 
"openly" or not, the margin of merit is small, even if it is conceded 
that there is anything meritorious in fasting. The ethical teachings 
interpolated by the forgers are usually objectionable. 

The verb which in the spurious passage, verse 34, has the signifi- 
cation of "being anxious," or "concerned," has in the genuine pas- 
sage the sense of "taking thought," or "concentrating the mind." 
Similar differences in the shades of meaning in words are often 
noticeable in the text, the genuine sections containing the technical, 
and the interpolations the colloquial, meanings. 

Chapter vii. 1-29 

1 "Judge not, that you may not be judged. 2 For with the 
judgment you pronounce, you shall be judged; and with the 
rule you measure by, it shall be measured to you. 3 But wdiy 
do you look at the dust-particle which is in your brother's eye, 



592 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

but do not discern the beam which is in your [own] eye? 4 
Or how will you say to your brother, 'Permit [that] I cast out 
the dust-particle from your eye'; and behold, the beam [is] in 
your [own] eye? 5 Hypocrite! cast out first the beam out of 
your [own] eye; and then you will see steadily to cast out the 
dust-particle out of your brother's eye. 

6 "Do not give the inner temple to the dogs, neither throw 
your pearls before the swine, lest they should trample on them 
with their feet, and turn and lacerate you. 

7 "Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall 
find; knock, and it shall be opened to you: 8 for every one 
who keeps asking receives, and who keeps seeking finds, and 
to [every one] who keeps knocking it shall be opened. 9 Or 
what man is there from among you, who, if his son shall ask 
him for a loaf of bread, will give him a stone ; 10 or if he shall 
ask him for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If, therefore, you 
who are luckless wights, know how to give good gifts to your 
children, how much more shall your Father who is in the skies 
give good gifts to those who ask him? 12 Therefore all things 
whatsoever that you wish that men should do to you, so also 
do ye to them; for this is the law and the prophets. 

13 "Enter in through the narrow gate; for broad [[is the 
gate]] and spacious is the road that leads to ruin, and many 
are they who enter in through it. 14 For narrow is the gate 
and straitened the road that leads to life, and few are they 
who find it. 

15 "Be on your guard against the pseudo-seers, who come 
to you in outer garb of sheep, but inwardly are rapacious 
wolves. 16 You shall detect them by their fruits. Do [men] 
gather grape-clusters from thorn-bushes, or figs from thistles? 
17 Thus every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree 
bears worthless fruit. 18 A good tree can not bear worthless 
fruit, neither can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree 
that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the 
fire. 20 So, then, you shall detect them, by their fruits. 

21 "Not every one who says to me, 'Master, Master/ shall 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 593 

enter into the kingdom of the skies; but he [shall enter] who 
does the will of my Father who is in the skies. 22 On that day 
many will say to me, 'Master, Master, [[did we not eat and 
drink in your name,]] "did we not prognosticate by your 
name," and by your name cast out ghosts, and by your name 
practise many magic arts?' 23 And then I shall admit to 
them, I have never acknowledged you; depart from me, 'doers 
of that which is lawless.' 

24 "Every one, therefore, who hears [[these]] my arcane 
doctrines, and observes them, shall be likened to a prudent 
man, who built his house upon the rock; 25 and the rain 
came down, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat 
against that house; but it did not fall, for its foundation had 
been laid upon the rock. 26 And every one who hears these 
arcane doctrines of mine, and does not observe them, shall be 
likened to a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand; 
27 and the rain came down, and the floods came, and the winds 
blew, and dashed against that house, and it fell — and great 
was its fall." 

28 And it came about, when Iesous had finished these sayings, 
that the crowds were astonished at his teaching; 29 for he was 
teaching them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 

COMMENTARY 

Considered as an actual "sermon," this long address is open to the 
same criticism that was made by the rustic who undertook the 
perusal of a dictionary: it is interesting, but it changes the subject 
too often. It was delivered, according to Matthew, at a time when 
only four disciples had been chosen ; and how it came to be reduced 
to writing is unexplained. It is a fair inference that Iesous is repre- 
sented as speaking extemporaneously ; but it is difficult to see how a 
verbatim report of his discourse could have been made, since it is 
improbable that any of his hearers were shorthand reporters, and 
only from memory could it have been reduced to writing. A system 
of shorthand was employed by the Romans, and the art was not lost 
until the third century, at which time most of the arts and sciences 



594 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

of antiquity were being wiped out in the triumphant progress of 
Christianity. The "sermon" is like a handful of gems removed 
from their settings, with a few base imitations thrown in. Of the 
latter, the saying about "judging" contains faulty reasoning, and 
the one about the "beam," a heavy squared timber, in a man's eye 
is rather grotesque. 

Chapter viii. 1-13 

1 And when he had come down f rom the mountain, great crowds 
followed him. 2 And behold, a leper came and did homage to him, 
saying : 

"Master, if you are willing, you can purify me." 

3 And he stretched out his hand, and touched him, saying: 

"I am willing; be purified." 

And immediately his leprosy was cleansed. 4 And Iesous says 
to him: 

"See that you say [nothing] to any one; but go show yourself 
to the priest, and offer the sacrifice which Moses commanded, for 
evidence to them." 

5 And when he had entered into Kapernaum, a centurion came 
to him, imploring him, 6 and saying : 

"Master, my slave is prostrated in the house, paralyzed, dread- 
fully tormented." 

7 And he says to him : 

"I shall come and heal him." 

8 And the centurion answered and said : 

"Master, I am not fit that you should come under my roof ; but 
only speak the word [of command], and my slave will be healed. 
9 For I also am a man [ [set] ] under authority, having under my- 
self soldiers : and I say to this one, 'Go,' and he goes ; and to another, 
'Come,' and he comes; and to my slave, 'Do this,' and he does it." 

10 And having heard [him], Iesous wondered, and said to those 
who were following him : 

"Amen, I say to you, With no one in Israel have I found so great 
faith ! 1 1 But I say to you, Many shall come from the east and the 
west, and shall recline [at table] with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 595 

the kingdom of the skies; 12 but the sons of the kingdom shall be 
hurled out into the outer darkness : in that place there shall be weep- 
ing and gnashing of teeth." 

13 And to the centurion Iesous said: 

"Go ; and it shall happen to you as you have believed." 
And the slave was cured in that hour. 

COMMENTARY 

In reproducing the text of Mark the compiler usually copies the 
errors of the former, as in verse 4, where "them" refers to the 
"priest," following Mark i. 44, 

Here Iesous is represented as exerting his healing power at a 
distance; but the cure is no more remarkable than others performed 
when the patients were present. It has been demonstrated repeat- 
edly by mesmeric healers that cures may be wrought upon absent 
patients. But in this story "faith," as usual in the spurious por- 
tions of the text, is made an important element, and it is the faith, 
not of the palsied slave, but of his master, a Roman ; and because 
the faith of the "heathen" surpassed that of the "sons of the king- 
dom" — the Jews — Iesous makes the prediction that many of the 
heathen will banquet in the regions celestial while the "sons" are 
gnashing their teeth in the regions infernal. This vindictive de- 
nunciation was probably inserted to account partially for the fact 
that the early Christian church was composed wholly of Greeks and 
Romans, without a Jew among them. For, despite the claim that 
Iesous appeared among the Jews and started the new religion, it is 
historically certain that Christianity originated in and was at first 
confined to Greece. It is s«afe to say that no Jew in those days had 
ever heard of Iesous, or had subsequently any opportunity to be- 
lieve in him, except as the hero of a work of fiction penned by men 
who never saw Palestine. 

Ch. viii. 14-17 

14 And when Iesous had come to the house of Petros, he 
saw his mother-in-law prostrated and feverish. 15 And he 



596 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she arose and 
served up [a dinner] to him. 

1 6 And when evening came, they brought to him many pos- 
sessed with ghosts; and he cast out the spirits with a word, 
and cured all who were ill, 17 that it might be fulfilled which 
was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying: 

"Himself took our infirmities, and bore our diseases/' 

COMMENTARY 

If Iesous healed diseases by taking them from all his patients 
and enduring them himself, in order to fulfil the "prophecy" of 
Isaiah, the crucifixion was not the worst of his sufferings. The 
forgers were as ignorant of the methods of healing as they were 
of the causes of disease. Theologians may understand this prophecy 
and its fulfilment in a mystical sense— for, in theology, anything 
will do for an explanation, even as anything from the Hebrew 
scriptures could bejturned into a prophecy by the forgers. Verse 
16 is a garbled copy of Mark i. 32; but the allegory concerning the 
action of the forces at sunrise and sunset has been stricken out and 
the "prophecy" substituted for it. According to Mark i. 34, Iesous 
healed "many" ; this is fraudulently changed in Matthew to "all," 
and in Luke (iv. 4) to "every one." 

Ch. viii. 18-34 

18 Now when Iesous saw great crowds around him, he com- 
manded [his disciples] to depart to the other side. 19 And 
a lone scribe came and said to him: 

"Teacher, I shall follow you to whatever place you may be 
going." 

20 And Iesous says to him: 

"The foxes have dens, and the birds of the sky [have] roosts; 
but the Son of man has not where to lay his head." 

21 And another of his disciples said to him: 
"Master, allow me first to go and bury my father." 

22 But Iesous says to him: 

"Follow me, and leave 'the dead' to bury their own dead." 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 597 

23 And when he had entered into the ship, his disciples fol- 
lowed him. 24 And behold, a great tempest arose in the sea, 
so that the ship was covered by the waves ; but he was sleeping. 
25 And they came to him and awoke him, saying: 

"Master, save [[us]]; we are perishing!" 

26 And he says to them : 

"Why are you cowardly, ye scant- faiths?" 

Then he arose and reprimanded the winds and the sea; and 
there befell a great calm. 27 And the men wondered, saying: 

"What sort of [man] is this, that even the winds and the sea 
obey him?" 

28 And when he had come to the other side, to the country 
of the Gadarenes, two [men] possessed by ghosts met him, 
coming from the tombs, very ferocious, so that no one was 
able to pass by that way. 29 And behold, they shouted, 
saying : 

"What matters it to us and to you, [[Iesous]], Son of God? 
Have you come here to torment us before the season?" 

30 Now there was, at a distance from them, a herd of many 
swine feeding. 31 And the ghosts implored him, saying: 

"If you cast us out, send us into the herd of swine." 

32 And he said to them: 

"Go!" 

And they came out and went into the [ [herd of] ] swine ; and, 
behold, the whole herd [[of swine]] rushed down the precipi- 
tous slope into the sea, and died in the waters. 33 And the 
herdsmen of them fled, and went away into the city, and told 
everything, and the [happenings] to the ghost-possessed 
[men]. 34 And behold, all the city went out to meet Iesous; 
and they saw him, and implored him to depart from their 
borders. 

COMMENTARY 

Possibly the compiler of Matthew on some occasions saw double : 
here he introduces two demoniacs where the other Synoptics men- 
tion but one; in ix. 27-31 he turns the blind son of Timaios into 
twins; and finally he gives Iesous a double mount (xxi. 7) when 



598 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

riding into Jerusalem. The story of the ghosts and the swine is 
given by Matthew but half the space devoted to it in Mark and 
Luke; and it may be that in ix. 27-31 he abridged two stories of 
healing a blind man by combining them and having the two men 
healed together, and, being gratified at the result, concluded that by 
reversing the process and making two out of one he could increase 
the dramatic effect in other incidents of the narrative. Perceiving 
the absurdity of having the swine "choked" in the sea, he has 
emended that by having them die in the waters. 

Chapter ix. 1-8 

1 And he embarked in the ship, and passed over, and came 
to his native city. 2 And behold, they brought to him a para- 
lytic, lying on a couch. And Iesous, seeing their faith, said to 
the paralytic: 

"Cheer up, child! Your sins are remitted." 

3 And behold, some of the scribes said within themselves: 
"This [fellow] is blaspheming." 

4 And Iesous, perceiving their cogitations, said: 

"Why are you meditating wicked things in your hearts? 5 
For which is easier, to say, 'Your sins are remitted/ or to say, 
'Arise and walk'? 6 But that you may know that the Son of 
man has authority on earth to remit sins," (then he says to the 
paralytic,) "Arise, and take up your couch, and go to your 
house." 

7 And he arose, and went away to his house. 8 And when 
the crowds saw it, they were terrified, and glorified God, who 
had given such authority to men. 

COMMENTARY 

Here again Matthew carries out his policy of condensing portions 
of the narrative, securing brevity at the expense of ruining the 
allegory. The essential details that the paralytic was borne by four, 
and lowered through an opening in the roof, are omitted, and the 
undermeaning is thereby obliterated. Otherwise the three Synoptics 
are in accord, except as to their doxological endings. The forgers 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 599 

must have been somewhat proud of their ability to write neat little 
doxologies, and they never fail to insert them in suitable — and often 
even in unsuitable — places, to inform the reader of the terror, 
amazement and other emotions inspired by the therapeutic and 
thaumaturgic feats of Iesous. They seemed always to fear that the 
incident itself might not speak loudly enough. 

The city where this miracle was performed was, according to 
Mark, Kapernaum; here it is termed the "native city" of Iesous. 
As he was called "Iesous of Nazareth," it is claimed that he had 
two native cities. But there is no historical evidence that either 
of them ever existed. 

Ch. ix. 9-26 

9 And Iesous, passing on thence, saw a man called Mat- 
thias sitting at the custom-house ; and he says to him: 

"Come along after me." 

And he arose and went along after him. 10 And it befell 
that while he was reclining [at table] at the house [of Mat- 
thias], behold, many tax-collectors and immoral men, who had 
come, were reclining [at table] with Iesous and his disciples. 
11 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to his disciples: 

"Why does your Teacher eat [[and drink]] with tax-collec- 
tors and immoral men?" 

12 But when [[Iesous]] heard it, he said [[to them]]: 

"Those who are in health have no need of a physician, but 
those who are ill. 13 But go and learn what is [the meaning 
of this scripture], 7 desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I have 
not come to call the virtuous, but the immoral [[to reform]]." 

14 Then come to him the disciples of Ioannes, saying: 
"Why do we and the Pharisees fast [[much]], but your dis- 
ciples do not fast?" 

15 And Iesous said to them: 

"Can the sons of the bridechamber mourn while the bride- 
groom is with them? But the days wall come wdien the bride- 
groom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast. 
16 No one puts a piece of uncarded cloth on an old garment; 



6oo THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT , 

for the patch made of it tears away from the garment, and a 
worse rent happens. 17 Neither do [men] put fresh wine into 
old wineskins, else the wineskins burst, and the wine is spilled, 
and the skins are destroyed ; but they put fresh wine into new 
wineskins, and both are preserved." 

18 As he was speaking these things to them, behold, a 
[[lone]] ruler came and did obeisance to him, saying: 

"My daughter has just now died; but do you come and lay 
your hand on her, and she will be restored to life." 

19 And lesous arose and followed him, and [so did] his dis- 
ciples. 20 And behold, a woman who had an issue of blood 
for twelve years drew near from behind and touched the hem 
of his garment; 21 for she kept saying within herself: 

"I shall be saved if only I touch his mantle." 
22 But lesous, turning and seeing her, said: 
"Cheer up, daughter; your faith has saved you." 
And from that hour the woman was saved. 23 And when 
lesous came to the ruler's house, and saw the flute-players, and 
the crowd making a commotion, 24 he said: 

"Make way ! For the little girl is not dead, but is sleeping." 

And they laughed at him scornfully. 25 But when the crowd 

had been put out, he entered in, and grasped her hand ; and the 

little girl arose. 26 And this rumor went out in all that land. 

COMMENTARY 

The process of abridging the narrative by cutting out some of its 
vital points is adhered to by Matthew in this version of the story 
of the ruler's twelve-year-old daughter and the woman with the 
issue of blood. Enough of it remains, however, to show that the 
compiler had no knowledge of its inner meaning as an allegory. 
Had he understood it, he would either have left it out entirely, or 
would have masked its meaning when he was abridging it and 
changing its phraseology for the worse in a fatuous attempt to im- 
prove it. To him the incident was no more than a demonstration 
of the healing power of lesous, by which his fame was spread 
throughout the country — a phrase repeated in verse 31 following. 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 601 

The repetitions in Matthew are so many and so glaring that it must 
be inferred that the compiler had a faulty memory. 

Ch. ix. 27-31 

2J And as Iesous was passing on from there, two blind men fol- 
lowed him, shouting and saying: 
"Have pity on us, son of David!" 

28 And when he had come into the house, the blind men came to 
him; and Iesous says to them: 

"Do you believe that I can do this?" 
They say to him : 
"Yes, Master." 

29 Then he touched their eyes, saying: 

"Let it result to you according to your faith." 

30 And their eyes were opened. And he enjoined them threat- 
eningly, saying: 

"Look you! Let no one know of it!" 

31 But they went out and made him known in all that land. 

COMMENTARY 

It is not stated whether faith on the part of the blind men was 
a necessary element in their cure or was only required as evidence 
of their worthiness to be cured; and there is nothing in the story 
to indicate the grounds upon which they based their belief, though 
it could hardly have had any basis other than hearsay, as the men 
were blind. Faith, a noble word, is usually employed by the forgers 
for mere blind credulity, and apparently that is all that was 
demanded by Iesous in this instance. Yet it is but natural that 
priests and religious charlatans of their ignoble sort should thus urge 
upon their followers the importance of having unreasoning faith; 
for if the people should develop the reasoning faculty and demand 
evidence before giving credence, the occupation of the exoteric ritu- 
alists and dogmatists would be gone. 

But for the disobedience of the blind men, after Iesous had so 
sternly commanded secrecy, his fame would not have gone out. He 
could open their eyes, but he could not shut their mouths. 



602 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Ch. ix. 32-34 

32 And as they are going out, behold, they brought to him 
a dumb man, possessed by a ghost. 33 And when the ghost 
had been cast out, the dumb man talked ; and the crowds won- 
dered, saying: 

"Never has it been seen thus in Israel!" 

[[34 But the Pharisees kept saying! 

"By the king of the ghosts he is casting out ghosts."] 

COMMENTARY 

This story is evidently the same as that in Luke xi. 14, although 
in the latter it is the ghost who is dumb, his dumbness being com- 
municated to his victim. But Matthew, yielding to his weakness for 
repetitions, has retold the story in xii. 22, making the man blind as 
well as dumb, and to that improved version of it he has appended 
the altercation between Iesous and the Pharisees, as in Luke. A 
later interpolator, perceiving that the first version of the story is 
thus left pointless, has ventured to add a modest comment (verse 
34), taking it from the material that had been transferred to the 
improved version in Chapter xii. Another writer, also anxious to 
improve the scriptures, has divided the discourse of Iesous at about 
the middle, xii. 30, and inserted miscellaneous matter to verse 43. 
Mark omits the story of the dumb (and deaf) man, and gives the 
altercation between Iesous and the Pharisees without any incident to 
lead up to it ; this leaves the latter part of Iesous' discourse, relating 
to the strong man guarding his house, disconnected and unintelli- 
gible. This is but one of many instances showing how the text has 
become a bewildering maze. 

Ch. ix. 35-38 . 

35 And Iesous went about all the cities and the villages, teaching 
in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, 
and curing all kinds of diseases and bodily infirmity [ [among the 
people]]. 36 And seeing the crowds, his heart was stirred 
concerning them because they were mangled and thrown to 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 603 

the ground, like sheep [ravaged by wolves], "not having a shep- 
herd/' 37 Then he says to his disciples: 

"The harvest indeed is heavy, but the laborers are few; 38 
therefore supplicate the Master of the harvest, that he may 
send out laborers to his harvest." 

COMMENTARY 

This passage is made up of one of Matthew's characteristic repe- 
titions (iv. 23) and two dislocated "sayings" {Mark vi. 34 and Luke 
x. 2). The "saying" in verse 36 is, however, more faithfully pre- 
served than it is in Mark, for it retains the words "mangled and 
thrown to the ground," iaKvXfjLevoL koX ippiixivoi, mistranslated in 
the revised version as "distressed and scattered." The "saying" 
must have referred to sheep attacked by wolves, and the clause was 
clumsily altered to introduce an Old Testament quotation and at the 
same time strike out the denunciation of the rapacious rulers of the 
common people. 

Chapter x. 1-16 

1 And he called to him his twelve disciples, and gave them 
authority over unclean spirits, in order to cast them out, and 
to cure all kinds of disease and bodily infirmity. 2 Now the 
names of the twelve apostles are these: the first, Simon, the 
so-called Petros, and Andreas, his brother; Iakobos, the [son] 
of Zebedaios, and Ioannes, his brother; 3 Philippos and Ptole- 
maios Junior; Thomas and Matthias, the tax-collector; Iako- 
bos, the [son]' of Alphaios, and Thaddaios [[alias Lebbaios]] ; 
4 Simon, the native of Kana [[alias Kananites]], and Ioudas 
Iskariotes, who also handed him over. 5 Iesous sent forth 
these .twelve, having charged them, saying: 

"Do not depart into the road of the heathens, and enter into no 
city of the Samaritans; 6 but go rather to 'the lost sheep of the 
house of Israel.' 7 And proclaim as you go, saying, 'The king- 
dom of the skies has drawn near.' 8 Cure the sick, raise the 
dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out ghosts ; gratuitously you have 
received, gratuitously impart. 9 Provide no gold, nor silver, 



604 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

nor copper in your belts, 10 no provision-bag for the road, nor 
two tunics, nor sandals, nor staff: for the laborer is worthy of 
his food, ii And in whatever city or village you may enter, 
inquire who in it is worthy; and remain there until you depart. 
12 And as you are entering into the house, give it kindly greet- 
ing. 13 And if the house is worthy, let your peace come upon 
it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. 14 
And whoever will not receive you, nor listen to your words, as 
you depart from that house or that city, shake off the dust from 
your feet. 15 Amen, I say to you, It shall be more endurable 
for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah, in the day of judgment, 
than for that city. 16 Behold, I am sending you forth as sheep 
in the midst of wolves: therefore be prudent as serpents and 
guileless as doves. 

COMMENTARY 

In the text of Matthew, as in that of Mark, which it copies, the 
seventy-two apostles (the thirty-six extra-zodiacal constellations) 
have been obliterated from the heavenly vault, and the twelve com- 
panions of the Solar Hero on his ecliptic path (the zodiacal con- 
stellations) are sent out from their circumscribed zone to bear the 
message that the kingdom of the skies has drawn near. It might 
better be termed the reign of universal anarchy. The instructions 
delivered by Iesous to these anthropomorphized asterisms are a chaos 
of dislocated and repeated "sayings," interspersed with puerilities 
written by the forgers. The glad tidings, it should be noted, were 
for the Jews only. The heathens and the Samaritans were not to 
be given the message. The day of the foreign missionary had not 
yet come. 

Ch. x. 17-42 

17 "But beware of men ; for they will hand you over to councils, 
and in their synagogues they will scourge you; 18 and on account 
of me you will be dragged before governors and kings, for a testi- 
mony to them and to the heathens. 19 But when they hand you 
over, do not be concerned about how or what you shall speak; for 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 605 

it will be given you in that hour what you shall speak : 20 for you 
are not the speakers, but your Father's Spirit is that which speaks 
in you. 21 And brother shall hand over brother to death, and the 
father his child ; and children shall revolt against parents, and shall 
put them to death. 22 And you shall be hated by all [men] on 
account of my name; but he who remains constant to the last, he 
shall be saved. 23 But when they persecute you in this city, flee 
to the next : for, amen, I say to you, You will not finish [the circuit 
of] the cities of Israel until the Son of man has come. 

24 "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his 
master. 25 It is sufficient for the disciple that he become like 
his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called 
the house-lord 'Beelzeboul,' how much more will they [de- 
fame] the members of his household! 26 Therefore do not 
fear them; for there is nothing veiled which shall not be un- 
veiled ; and occult, which shall not be known. 27 What I tell 
you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear in the 
ear, proclaim upon the housetops. 28 And do not be terrified be- 
cause of those who kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul ; 
but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in 
Hinnom-valley. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny ? And 
not one of them shall fall to the ground without your Father's 
sanction; 30 but even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 
31 Therefore do not fear: you excel many sparrows. 32 Every 
one, therefore, who shall confess me before men, I also will confess 
him before my Father who is in the skies; 33 but whoever shall 
disown me before men, I also will disown him before my Father 
who is in the skies. 

34 "Do not think that I have come to sow peace on the earth ; 
I have come to sow, not peace, but the sword. 35 For I have 
come to set a man 'at variance with his father, and the daughter 
with her mother, and the daughter-in-law zvith her mother-in-law; 
36 and a man's enemies [shall be] the members of his household/ 
$7 He who loves father or mother above me is not worthy of 
me ; 38 and he who does not take up his cross and follow after 
me is not worthy of me. 39 He who has found his psychic 



606 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

consciousness shall lose it; and he who has lost his psychic 
consciousness for my sake shall find it. 

40 "He who entertains you entertains me, and he who entertains 
me entertains him who sent me. 41 He who entertains a seer in 
the name of a seer shall meet with a seer's reward ; and he who 
entertains a just man in the name of a just man shall meet with 
a just man's reward. 42 And whoever shall give to drink to 
a single one of these little ones a cup of cold water only, in 
the name of a disciple, shall not at all lose his reward." 

COMMENTARY 

In the compilation of this rambling speech even the discourse 
upon the end of the world has been drawn upon, and the twelve 
Guardian-Gods of the zodiacal belt must have started on their ter- 
restrial circuit of the cities of Israel with no very clear notion of the 
message which they were to convey to the lost sheep. That a re- 
ligious teacher, of sound mind, would give these instructions to 
disciples whom he was sending out as propagandists is unthinkable. 

Chapter xi. 1-19 

1 And it befell when Iesous had finished commissioning his 
twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and proclaim [the 
good tidings] in their cities. 

2 Now when Ioannes, in the prison, heard of the doings of 
Iesous, he sent by [[two of]] his disciples, 3 and said to him: 

"Are you the Coming One, or are we expecting another ?" 

4 And Iesous answered and said to them : 

"Go and report to Ioannes the things you keep hearing and see- 
ing: 5 'the blind recover their sight/ and the lame are walking; 
the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf are hearing, and the dead are 
raised, and 'the poor are being told the good tidings.' 6 And 
blessed is he, whoever it [may be], who shall not be offended on 
account of me." 

7 But as they were going, Iesous began to say to the crowds 
concerning Ioannes: 

"What did you go out into the desert to behold — a reed 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 607 

being swayed by the wind? 8 But what did you go out to 
look at — a man clothed in soft garments? Behold, the wearers 
of soft garments are in the palaces of kings. 9 But why did 
you go out? To look at a seer? Yes! I say to you, and [a 
man] more uncommon than a seer. 10 For this [forerun- 
ner] is he concerning whom it is written : 

'Behold, I am sending my messenger before thy face, 

Who shall prepare thy way before thee.' 
11 "Amen, I say to you, Among [men] of women born there 
has not arisen one more mature than Ioannes the Lustrator; 
but he who is a mere infant in the kingdom of the skies is a 
more mature [man] than he. 12 But from the days of Ioannes 
the Lustrator until now the kingdom of the skies is carried by 
storm, and the forceful obtain mastery over it. 13 For all the 
prophets and the law prophesied until Ioannes. 14 And if 
you are willing to accept [hiiri], he is Elijah, the one destined 
to come. 15 He who has ears [[to hear]], let him hear. 16 
But to what shall I liken this generative-sphere? It is like to 
little children who, sitting in the market-places, keep calling to 
their companions 17 and say: 

'We have fluted to you, and you did n't dance; 

We 've wailed, and you did n't beat yourselves.' 
18 For Ioannes came neither eating nor drinking, and they 
keep saying, 'He is possessed by a ghost.' 19 The Son of man 
came eating and drinking, and they keep saying, 'Behold, a 
glutton and a wine-swiller, a friend of tax-collectors and im- 
moral men!' And by her children 'Learning' is held to be 
accurate !" 

COMMENTARY 

Ioannes, as here represented, is not a seer : after proclaiming that 
Iesous was coming, he is unable to recognize him when he does 
come. Yet even the "unclean spirits" had the finer faculty of sig'ht 
which the divinely appointed forerunner did not possess. Because 
a man could perform phenomenal cures — even raising the dead — 
and condescended to preach to the poor, it would not necessarily fol- 



608 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

low that he was the promised Messiah, unless it were also shown 
that only a Messiah could do these things. In Luke (i. 41) it is 
related that Ioannes, when he was very young indeed, and occupy- 
ing even closer quarters than when imprisoned, recognized Iesous 
when the latter 's actual existence would have been a matter of 
doubt for even an expert anatomist. 

Ioannes is said to be Elijah reincarnated. The statement that he 
neither ate nor drank no doubt read originally that he did not 
eat meat or drink wine; for these are prohibited to those ascetics 
who are engaged in the telestic work. The priest-forgers seem 
to have modified the text to meet their own views — or appetites. 

Ch. xi. 20-24 

20 Then he began to reproach the cities in which most of his 
magic feats had been performed, because they did not repent : 

21 "Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! For 
if the magic feats which have been performed in you had been per- 
formed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in 
sackcloth and ashes. 22 However, I say to you,. It shall be more 
endurable for Tyre and Sidon, in the day of judgment, than for 
you. 23 And shalt thou, Kapernaum, 'be exalted to heaven'} 
Thou 'shalt go down to the underworld/ For if the magic feats 
had been performed in Sodom which have been performed in thee, 
it would have remained until to-day. 24 However, I say to you, 
It shall be more endurable for the land of Sodom, in the day of 
judgment, than for thee." 

COMMENTARY 

This tirade is given in Luke as an expansion of Mark vi. 11 (of 
which verse the latter half is found only in later manuscripts), but 
here in Matthew it has not even that excuse for its existence, since 
it is severed from the context. Chorazin is not mentioned in the 
Old Testament or in the writings of Josephus. The claim that 
there was a city named Bethsaida in Galilee also rests solely upon 
the authority of the Gospels; and this is true also of Kapernaum. 
Thus the forgers have made Iesous perform most of his miracles in 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 609 

"cities" which probably never existed, but which were, like the 
miracles, only inventions of the forgers. If the cities did exist, 
their location is now unknown, and their ruins can not be pointed 
out. The people in these unreal cities are said to have rejected 
Iesous and his thaumaturgy, although the citizens of Tyre and 
Si don would have welcomed him : if so, he made a mistake in wast- 
ing his efforts upon the unappreciative Jews when the Phoenicians 
would have accepted him, and would have spread the report of his 
miracles throughout all the civilized world. But the Phoenicians 
were not "lost sheep," and their cities were too well known and 
accessible to suit the purposes of the forgers. 

Ch. xi. 25-30 

25 At that sea-son Iesous answered and said : 

"I praise thee, O Father, Master of the sky and of the earth, 
that thou didst hide these things from the learned and the intelli- 
gent, and didst unveil them to infants : 26 yea, Father, for thus 
it was rightly intended before thee. 

27 "All things have been handed over to me by my Father. And 
no one knows again the Son, except the Father; neither does any 
one know again the Father, except the Son, and he to whomsoever 
the Son may unveil him. 28 Come unto me, all ye who are toil- 
worn and burdened, and I shall give you rest. 29 Take my yoke 
upon you, and learn from me ; for I am meek and humble in heart ; 
and 'you shall find rest unto your souls.' 30 For easy is my yoke, 
and light my burden." 

COMMENTARY 

This passage is in strange contrast with the one preceding it. 
The prayer resembles some of the pseudo-mystical utterances con- 
tained in the Fourth Gospel, and even if it embodied sound philos- 
ophy it would still be out of place in the Synoptic text. To the 
ignorant, the unintelligent and the immature its statements may 
convey a wealth of meaning, although to others they appear to 
be only theological fancies. The prayer has no "historical" setting, 
being introduced with the vague formula "at that season," which 



6io THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

is evidently a mere repetition of the same words in xii. i imme- 
diately following the interpolated passage, the repetition indicating 
the clumsy artifice by which the irrelevant prayer and its accom- 
panying exhortation were foisted in the text. 

Chapter xii. 1-14 

1 At that season Iesous went on the sabbath day through the 
grain-fields; and his disciples were hungry and began to pluck the 
ears and to eat. 2 But the Pharisees, when they saw [this], said 
to him: 

"Look, your disciples are doing what it is not lawful to do on the 
sabbath." 

3 But he said to them : 

"Have you not read w T hat David did, when he w T as hungry, and 
those with him — 4 how he entered into God's house, and [he and 
his followers] ate the 'loaves of the display-offering/ which it was 
not lawful for him to eat, nor for those with him, but only for the 
priests? 5 Or have you not read in the law, that on the sabbaths 
the priests in the temple desecrate the sabbath, and are guiltless? 
6 But I say to you, a greater [thing'] than the temple is here. 7 
But if you had understood what [this scripture] is, 'I desire com- 
passion, and not a sacrificial victim/ you would not have condemned 
the guiltless. 8 For the Son of man is Master of the sabbath." 

9 And he departed thence, and went into their synagogue. 10 
And behold, a man having a withered hand [was there]. And 
they put to him a question, saying : 

"Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath?" 
— that they might prefer charges against him. 11 But he said to 
them : 

"What man [ [shall there be] ] among you, who shall have one 
sheep, and if this [sheep] fall into a pit on the sabbath, will he 
not take hold of it and raise it up? 12 How much, then, is a man 
of more value than a sheep? So that it is lawful to act nobly on 
the sabbath." 

13 Then he says to the man : 

"Stretch out your hand." 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 6n 

And he stretched it out, and it was restored sound, like the other. 

14 But the Pharisees went out and consulted against him, how 
they might destroy him. 

COMMENTARY 

The compiler of Matthew has here attempted, but with no great 
measure of success, to improve upon the text of Mark by strength- 
ening the unsatisfactory arguments advanced by Iesous. The quo- 
tation from Hosea, even when correctly quoted, has no bearing on 
the subject of keeping the sabbath. The illustration of the sheep 
in a pit was used, according to Luke, on a different "historical" 
occasion. 

Ch. xii. 15-21 

15 And Iesous, being aware of it, withdrew thence; and many 
went along after him; and he healed them all, 16 and he enjoined 
them that they should not make him manifest: 17 that it might 
be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying : 

18 "Behold, my servant whom I have selected, 

My beloved, of whom my soul approves; 
I "will put my Spirit upon him, 

And he shall announce judgment to the pagans. 

19 He shall not wrangle, nor vociferate, 

Neither shall any one hear his voice in the streets. 

20 A shattered reed he will not break in pieces, 
And a smoking wick he will not quench, 

Till he carries out the issue to a victory. 

21 And in his name shall the pagans hope." 

COMMENTARY 

Here, as in other instances, words taken from the Old Testament 
have been converted into a "prophecy" by the simple process of 
changing verbs from the past to the future tense. Isaiah reads, "I 
have put my Spirit upon him," not "will put." The quotation is 
otherwise garbled ; and Isaiah can hardly be he4d responsible for 
the last two lines. The device by which the quotation is brought 
into the text is a flimsy one: the beloved servant shall not talk 



612 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

loudly or be heard in the streets, and this is "fulfilled" by Iesous 
forbidding people to make him manifest! 

Ch. xii. 22-37 

22 Then a blind and dumb man, possessed by a ghost, was 
brought to him ; and he healed him, so that the [ [blind and] ] dumb 
man [[both]] spoke and saw. 23 And all the crowds were 
astounded, and said : 

"This [healer] is not the son of David, is he?" 

24 But the Pharisees, when they heard of it, said: 

"This [fellow] does not cast out ghosts except by Beelzeboul, 
the king of the ghosts." 

25 And [[Iesous]], knowing their cogitations, said to them: 
"Every kingdom divided against itself is devastated, and 

every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. 26 
And if the Adversary is casting out the Adversary, he is divided 
against himself. How, then, can his kingdom stand? 27 And 
if I by Beelzeboul am casting out ghosts, by whom do your 
sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. 28 
But if I by the Breath of God am casting out ghosts, then the 
kingdom of God has taken you unawares. 29 Or how can any 
one enter into the strong [man's] house, and pillage his do- 
mestic gear, unless he first binds the strong [man] ? And then 
he will pillage his house. 30 He who is not with me is against 
me; and he who does not join with me dissipates [his forces]. 
31 Therefore I say to you, Every sin and profanity shall be 
forgiven men; but the profanity toward the sacred Air shall 
not be forgiven. 32 And whoever speaks a word against the 
Son of man, it shall be. forgiven him ; but whoever speaks 
against the sacred Air, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in 
this aeon nor in the one to come. 33 Either make the tree good, 
and its fruit good; or make the tree rotten, and its fruit rotten : 
for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 O brood of vipers, how 
can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the heart's 
superfluities the mouth speaks. 35 The good man out of his 
[[heart's]] good treasure throws out good things; and the bad 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 613 

man out of his bad treasure throws out bad things. 36 And 
I say to you, Every idle word that men may speak, they shall 
render an account of it in the judgment day. 37 For you shall 
be held innocent according to your words, and you shall be 
pronounced guilty according to your words." 

COMMENTARY 

This blind and dumb man is the same as the dumb man of ix. 32 : 
his second appearance on the scene and his loss of sight merely 
exemplify Matthew's method of writing "history." The injunction 
to make the tree good or make it rotten is an example of the absurd 
way in which the forgers tried to make the most of their literary 
material by repetitions, changing the form and making new appli- 
cations of the "sayings." 

Ch. xii. 38-45 

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, 
saying : 

"Teacher, we wish to see your sign." 

39 But he answered and said to them: 

"A wicked and adulterous age keeps asking for a sign; and 
no sign shall be given to it except the sign of Jonah, the seer. 
40 For even as 'Jonah zvas three days and nights in the belly of 
the Sea-monster [Cetus],' so shall the Son of man be three 
days and nights in the heart of the Earth. 41 The men of 
Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment with this age, and shall 
condemn it: for they reformed at the proclamation of Jonah; 
and behold, something more than Jonah is here. 42 The queen 
of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this age, and 
shall condemn it: for she came from the ends of the earth to 
hear Solomon's philosophy; and behold, something more than 
Solomon is here. 43 But the unclean spirit, when it has gone 
out from the man, wanders about in waterless places, seeking 
respite [from its torments], and finds no [respite]. 44 Then 
it says, 'I shall return to my house whence I came out'; and 
when it comes, it finds it vacant, swept and decorated. 45 Then 
it goes and takes with itself seven other spirits more wicked. 



614 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT ' 

than itself, and they enter in and dwell there, and the last state 
of that man becomes worse than the first. Thus it shall be also 
to this wicked age." 

COMMENTARY 

The part of this discourse beginning at verse 43, referring to the 
unclean spirit, should follow verse 30 above. The discourse has 
been severed, breaking the sense, and irrelevant matter inserted 
which is made up of repetitions and forgeries, apparently copied 
from the other Synoptics. Failing to understand the simile of the 
"strong man/' the interpolator saw no connection between it and 
the story of the ejected spirit, and disjoined them to make place 
for his additional matter. Then at the end of verse 45 he has stu- 
pidly applied the story of the possessing spirit to "this wicked age." 

In xii. 6 the forger was evidently laboring to bring out the idea 
that to be in the presence of Iesous was more sanctifying than to be 
in the temple ; but he only delivered the idea abortively by the asser- 
tion that Iesous was a greater thing than the temple. Similarly in 
verses 41 and 42 he was trying to say that Iesous was a greater 
seer than Jonah, a greater philosopher than Solomon ; but his ideas 
were foggy and his words are not clear. 

Ch. xii. 46-50 

46 While he was yet speaking to the crowds, his mother and his 
brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to him. [[47 
And one of the crowd said to him : 

"Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, seek- 
ing to speak to you."]] 

48 But he answered and said to him who told him : 
"Who is my mother? And who are my brothers?" 

49 And stretching out his hand towards his disciples, he said: 
"Behold my mother and my brothers ! 50 For whoever shall do 

the will of my Father who is in the skies, he is my brother, and 
sister, and mother." 

Chapter xiii. 1-23 
1 On that day Iesous went out of the house, and sat down 
beside the sea. 2 And great crowds came together to him, so 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 615 

that he entered into the ship, and sat down ; and all the crowd 
stood on the beach. 3 And he spoke to them many things in 
allegories, saying: 

"Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4 and as he sowed 
some [of the seeds] fell beside the road, and the birds came 
and ate them up. 5 And others fell on the rocky [places], 
where they had not much soil; and immediately they sprang 
up, because they had no depth of soil, 6 and when the sun had 
risen they were scorched; and because they had no root, they 
withered away. 7 And others fell on the thorns; and the 
thorns grew up and choked them. 8 And others fell on the 
good soil, and yielded fruit, some thirty, some sixty, and some 
a hundredfold. 9 He who has ears [[to hear]], let him hear." 

10 And his disciples came and said to him: 
"Why do you speak to them in allegories?" 

11 And he answered and said to them: 

"To you it has been permitted to know the mysteries of the 
kingdom of the skies; but to them it has not been permitted. 
12 For whoever has, to him shall be given, and he shall be in 
abundance ; but whoever has not, from him shall be taken away 
even what he has. 13 For this reason I speak to them in alle- 
gories; because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not 
hear, nor do they comprehend. 14 And to them is fulfilled the 
prophecy of Isaiah, which says : 

'By hearing ye shall hear, and yet shall not at all comprehend; 
And seeing ye shall see, and yet not at all have insight: 

15 For this people's heart has become doltish, 

And with their ears they hear dully, 
And their eyes they have closed, 
Lest ever they should see with their eyes, 
And hear with their ears, 
And understand with their heart, and should be made to repent, 
And I should heal them! 

16 But your eyes are fortunate, because they see; and your ears, 
because they hear. 17 For, amen, I say to you, Many seers and 
virtuous [men] have longed to see the things which you see, and 



616 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

did not see them ; and to hear the things which you hear, and did 
not hear them. 18 Listen, then, to [the interpretation of] the 
allegory of the sower. jo, When any one hears the arcane doc- 
trine, and does not understand it, the Evil [Genius] comes and 
snatches away that which was sown in his heart. This is he who 
was sown beside the road. 20 And he who was sown upon the 
rocky [places], this is he who hears the arcane doctrine, and imme- 
diately with joy receives it; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but 
is transient, and when because of the arcane doctrine an ordeal or 
persecution befalls, immediately he is tripped up. 22 And he who 
was sown among the thorns, this is he who hears the arcane doc- 
trine, and the cares of [[this]] aeon, and the delusion of wealth, 
choke the arcane doctrine, and it becomes unfruitful. 23 And he 
who was sown on the good soil, this is he who hears and under- 
stands the arcane doctrine, who indeed bears fruit, and produces, 
some thirty, some sixty, and some a hundredfold." 

COMMENTARY 

The two "sayings 1 ' in verses 11 and 12 have been joined together 
for no other reason, apparently, than that they both contain the 
verb SlSopcu, "to give"; but according to the construction in 
verse 11 the verb means "to grant," "to allow," while in verse 12 
it is used in the sense of bestowing, of actually giving. The former 
refers to the Mystery-teachings ; but the latter has reference to the 
capacity of the disciple for receiving the inner truths, and in this 
passage it is dislocated. 

The compiler has adopted the "esoteric" interpretation of the 
allegory given in Mark, apparently not questioning its accuracy; 
but in rewording it he has made it even more nonsensical. 

The words misquoted from Isaiah are not in any sense a proph- 
ecy, but are a command given by the Lord, "Go, and tell this peo- 
ple, 'Hear ye, indeed, but understand not/ " etc. ; it is not merely 
an inaccurate quotation, but one that has been deliberately falsified. 
Even if it were a prophecy, duly fulfilled, it would have very little 
significance. The only object in inserting it was to give a Jewish 
color to the text. 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 617 

Ch. xiii. 24-30 

24 Another allegory he put before them, saying : 
"The kingdom of the skies has been likened to a man who 
sowed clean seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his 
enemy came and sowed wheat-grass in between the wheat, and 
went away. 26 And when the blade sprouted, and produced 
fruit, then the wheat-grass appeared also. 27 And the slaves 
of the house-lord came and said to him: 

" 'Master, did you not sow clean seed in your field? From 
what source, then, does it have wheat-grass?' 

28 "And he said to them: 
" 'An enemy did this.' 
"And the slaves say to him: 

" 'Do you wish that we should go forth and gather them?' 

29 "But he says: 

" 'No ; lest while gathering the wheat-grass you should up- 
root the wheat together with the wheat-grass. 30 Let both 
grow up together until the harvest; and at the season of the 
harvest I shall say to the harvestmen, Gather first the tares, 
and bind them into sheaves to burn them ; but bring the wheat 
into my granary/ " 

COMMENTARY 

The text of Matthew gives a number of allegories of the kingdom 
which are not found in the other Synoptics. If they were included 
in the original compilation, and are not later additions, then it would 
follow almost conclusively that the compiler of Luke did not copy 
from Matthew, for it is improbable that he would have refrained 
from appropriating some of its finest jewels, while at the same time 
transferring to his own collection the tawdry imitations in Mark 
along with real gems. It would seem that Matthew had not only 
the collection of "sayings" which he incorporated in the "sermon 
on the mount" but also a compilation of allegories of the kingdom 
of the skies, from which he took that distinctive phrase, which is 
not used by the other Synoptists, who speak only of "the kingdom 



618 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

of God." The compiler of Luke was superior to the others in liter- 
ary ability, and had a fondness for poetic phrases: if the text of 
Matthew had been before him he would undoubtedly have copied 
this one, "the kingdom of the heavens." 

Ch. xiii. 31-32 

31 Another allegory he put before them, saying: 
"The kingdom of the skies is like a grain of mustard seed 
(which a man took and sowed in his field), 32 which is smaller 
than all the seeds, but when it is grown is greater than the 
herbs, and becomes a tree, so that 'the birds of the sky' come 
and 'roost in its branches.' " 

COMMENTARY 

The absurd phrase, "smaller than all the seeds," is justifiably 
modified in the authorized version to "least of all seeds" ; but this 
translation is designed to reproduce the blemishes as well as the 
beauties of the text, and not to mislead the reader into the belief 
that the Greek original is accurate in statement and elegant in dic- 
tion. The genuine passages in the Gospels have all the crudities 
and peculiarities that would naturally result if an inexperienced 
writer with a limited vocabulary were to reproduce, in prose and 
from memory only, a superb poem which he had heard recited, thus 
clothing sublime conceptions in verbal rags and tatters. 

Ch. xiii. 33 

33 Another allegory he spoke to them : 

"The kingdom of the skies is like leaven, which a woman took 
and hid in three measures of wheaten flour, till it was all leavened." 

COMMENTARY 

This "allegory" can only be regarded as spurious; for leaven 
causes fermentation and corruption, and the process of spiritual 
illumination can hardly be likened to the development of yeast-cells. 
The "measure" referred to, the saton, is the Jewish seah. The 
worthless and badly written little "allegory" may safely be classi- 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 619 

fied with the pseudo Jewish passages in the text, none of which 
have any literary merit or fidelity to spiritual truths. 

Ch. xiii. 34-43 
34 All these things Iesous spoke in allegories to the people; and 
without an allegory he spoke nothing to them : 35 so that it might 
be fulfilled which was spoken through [ [Isaiah] ] the prophet, 
saying : 

"I will open my mouth in allegories; 

I will emit things kept secret since the beginning [[of the 
world]']." 

36 Then [[Iesous]'] left the crowds, and went into the house; 
and his disciples came to him, saying: 

"Make clear to us the allegory of the wheat-grass of the field." 

37 And he answered and said : 

"He who sows the clean seed is the Son of man; 38 and the 
field is the world ; and the clean seed, these are the sons of the king- 
dom; and the wheat-grass [seed] are the sons of the Evil [Genius] : 
39 and the enemy who sowed them is the Accuser ; and the harvest 
is the wind-up [of the affairs] of the aeon ; and the harvestmen are 
the Divinities. 40 So it shall be in the wind-up [of the affairs] of 
the aeon. 41 The Son of man shall send forth his Divinities, and 
they shall gather out of his kingdom all [those who set]' snares, 
and those w T ho do lawless deeds, 42 and shall throw them into the 
furnace of fire : in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing 
of teeth. 43 Then the virtuous shall be resplendent as the sun in 
their Father's kingdom. He who has ears [ [to hear] ] , let him hear. 

COMMENTARY 

The words of the Psalmist, here erroneously credited to Isaiah, 
were not intended as a prophecy, and here they have been dishon- 
estly rewritten before being transferred from the mouth of Yah- 
veh to that of Iesous. The reading "Isaiah," by which this quota- 
tion from Psalms lxxviii. 2 is ascribed to the prophet, was erased 
in the majority of manuscripts after the philosopher Porphyrios, 
in the latter part of the third century, had called attention to the 



620 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

absurd error; but the Sinaitic manuscript, although of later date, 
had this reading, as is shown by an unskilful erasure and altera- 
tion. 

Whenever the forgers have attempted to "make clear'' an alle- 
gory, their explanation of it is based, not upon inner truths, but 
upon the mere outer aspect of life; for the forgers were materialists 
in that they were unconscious of the spiritual world of causes and 
aware only of the objective world of effects. According to their 
interpretation of this allegory, the clean seed are the good people, 
the followers of lesous; and the weeds are the bad people, the fol- 
lowers of the Devil. The field, which is the world, is sown with 
good people by lesous, with bad people by the Devil ; and this would 
seem to make lesous and the Devil the creators of mankind, regard- 
less of the fable about Adam and Eve. The world (the field) is 
also the "kingdom" of lesous, from which the Devil's bad people 
are weeded out by the "angels," and after being bound into sheaves 
are thrown into "the furnace of fire" (presumably hell), while the 
good people are transported from the "kingdom" of lesous, the 
field, to "their Father's kingdom," the granary! 

Ch. xiii. 44-52 

44 "[[Again]], the kingdom of the skies is like a treasure 
hidden in a field, which a man found and hid ; and for joy at it 
he goes and sells everything that he possesses, and buys that 
field. 

45 "Again, the kingdom of the skies is like a merchant seek- 
ing for beautiful pearls; 46 and having found one very pre- 
cious pearl, he went away and sold everything that he pos- 
sessed, and bought it. 

47 "Again, the kingdom of the skies is like a dragnet which 
was cast into the sea, and gathered [fishes] of every kind; 48 
which, when it was filled, [the fishermen] hauled up on the 
beach ; and they sat down and collected the good in baskets, but 
the malodorous ones they threw out. 49 So it shall be in the 
wind-up of the affairs of the aeon. The Divinities shall come forth, 
and shall separate the wicked from the midst of the virtuous, 50 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 621 

and shall throw them into the furnace of fire : in that place there 
shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." 

51 [[Iesous says to them :]] 

"Have you understood all these things ?" 
They say to him : 
"Yes, Master." 

52 And he says to them : 

"Therefore every scribe who has been made a disciple to the 
kingdom of the skies is like a house-lord who from his treasure 
brings out things new and old." 

COMMENTARY 

Here the forger continues his exegesis, which is not luminous, 
but is lurid : his thought is fixed on the settling of accounts at the 
close of the cycle, when the wicked (whom he virtuously hates) 
are to be consigned to "the furnace of fire" (his muddled mind 
confusing the unedible fish of this allegory with the wheat-grass of 
a preceding one), and for the third time he writes the honeyed 
phrase, "weeping and gnashing of teeth," which he repeats at inter- 
vals later on. Not content with merely inserting his nonsensical for- 
geries in the text, he has the effrontery to place the twaddle in the 
mouth of Iesous. The character of the pseudo-Iesous reflects the 
bigotry and vindictiveness of the priestly forgers. 

Ch. xiii. 53-58 

53 And it befell that when Iesous had finished these alle- 
gories, he withdrew thence. 54 And having come into his 
native [city], he taught them in their synagogue, so that they 
were astounded, and said: 

"From what source does this [man] have this learning and 
these powers? 55 Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his 
mother called Mariam, and his brothers Iakobos, and Ioseph, 
and Simon, and Ioudas? 56 And his sisters, are they not all 
with us? From what source, then, does this [man] have all 
these things?" 

57 And they were offended at him. But Iesous said to them : 



622 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

"A seer is not dishonored, save in his native [city], and in 
his own house." 

58 And he did not exert many powers there, because of their 
unbelief. 

COMMENTARY 

Iesous is here called the son of the carpenter, Ioseph, though he 
is referred to in Mark as "the carpenter, the son of Mariam." That 
Iesous should follow his father's trade would be natural, if the 
narrative were historical; but as Ioseph is the World-builder, the 
Demiurge of Platonic philosophy, the text of Matthew is here more 
accurate than that of Mark, in which the parallel passage has evi- 
dently been tampered with. There are many things in Mark which 
show that the text must have been unscrupulously "edited" after 
Luke and Matthew had been compiled from it ; and in this, and also 
in the next two incidents, it has been considerably expanded by the 
forgers. It is clear that the text of Mark is not as "primitive" as 
it was when the compilers of Luke and of Matthew transferred its 
material to their pages. But the honest "he could not do any" of 
Mark vi. 5 is here softened to "he did not do many," the theological 
forger being reluctant to admit that the power of Iesous was 
limited. Yet no instances are given of the restoration by Iesous of 
missing limbs and other organs. 

Chapter xiv. 1-12 

1 At that season Herod the tetrarch heard the report about 
Iesous, 2 and said to his servants : 

"This is Ioannes the Lustrator : he is risen from the dead, and 
because of this the forces energize in him." 

3 For Herod had seized and bound Ioannes, and put him in 
prison, on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. 4 For 
Ioannes said to him : 

"It is unlawful for you to take her [to wife]." 

5 And though he wished to kill him, he was afraid of the popu- 
lace, because they held he was a seer. 6 But when Herod's birthday 
came, the daughter of Herodias danced in the midst, and pleased 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 623 

Herod; 7 wherefore he promised with an oath to give her what- 
ever she should ask. 8 But she, being instigated by her mother, 
says: 

"Give me here on a dish the head of Ioannes the Lustrator." 
9 And the king was grieved; [[but]] on account of his oaths, 
and of [his guests] reclining with [him at table]', he commanded it 
to be given [to her]. 10 And he sent and beheaded Ioannes in the 
prison. 11 And his head was brought in a dish, and was given to 
the little girl; and she brought it to her mother. 12 And his dis- 
ciples came, and took up the corpse, and buried it, and went and 
announced [it] to Iesous. 

COMMENTARY 

Here the story of the beheading of Ioannes is told more briefly 
and crudely than in Mark, while in Lake it is condensed to a few 
sentences, in which no mention is made of Herod's banquet and the 
incidents which are reminiscent of Queen Esther. The compiler 
of Luke probably shrank from copying so rank a plagiarism. Here 
Matthew, contradicting Mark, makes Herod desire the death of 
Ioannes; and then, stupidly contradicting himself, has Herod 
"grieved" because he had brought about his death. 

The opinion expressed by Herod (verse 2) reflects a Greek su- 
perstition that a person revived from (apparent) death was sacred 
and possessed occult powers. 

Ch. xiv. 13-21 

13 And when Iesous heard [it], he departed thence, in 
the ship, to a desert place; and when the crowds heard [that 
he was going], they followed him on foot from the cities. 14 
And [ [Iesous] ] came out and saw a great crowd, and his heart 
was stirred with pity for them, and he healed their sick. 15 
And when evening arrived, his disciples came to him, saying: 

"The place is desert, and the [day] time is already gone by; 
dismiss the crowds, that they may go into the villages and buy 
themselves food." 

16 But Iesous said to them: 



624 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

"They have no need to go away; do you give them [some- 
thing] to eat." 

17 And they say to him: 

"We have nothing here except five loaves and two fishes." 

18 And he said: 
"Bring them here to me." 

19 And he ordered the crowds to recline on the greensward; 
and he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and having 
looked up to the sky, he blessed, and broke in pieces and gave 
the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples [distributed them] 
to the crowds. 20 And they all ate and were satisfied ; and they 
took up the remainder of the broken fragments, twelve hand- 
baskets full. 21 And those who ate were about five thousand 
men, besides women and children. 

COMMENTARY 

Here, again, the text of Matthew is more primitive than that of 
Mark, for the latter has evidently been "padded," though the essen- 
tial details have not been altered. The words, "besides women and 
children," have been thoughtfully added by one of the forgers, pre- 
sumably the same literary genius who explained why the fig-tree 
had no fruit, and who added the information that Mariam was 
found to be with child "by the holy Air." Women taking children 
to the picnic would probably have brought provisions. 

Ch. xiv. 22-36 

22 And immediately he compelled [[his]] disciples to enter into 
the ship and go before him to the other side, until he should send 
away the crowds. 23 And having dismissed the crowds, he went 
up into the mountain apart to pray; and when evening came, he 
was there alone. 24 And the ship was now in the midst of the sea, 
harassed by the waves ; for the wind was contrary. 25 But in the 
fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. 
26 But they, seeing him walking on the sea, were thrown into con- 
sternation, saying: 

"It is a spectre!" 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 625 

And they screamed through fear. 27 But immediately Iesous 
spoke to them, saying: 

"Take courage: it is I. Fear not." 

28 And Petros answered him and said : 

"Master, if it is you, order me to come to you upon the waters." 

29 And he said : 
"Come !" 

And Petros descended from the ship, and walked on the waters 
and came to Iesous. 30 But seeing the [[strong]] wind, he took 
fright, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying : 

"Master, save me!" 

31 And immediately Iesous stretched out his hand and took hold 
of him, and says to him : 

"Why did you hesitate, scant- faith?" 

32 And when they had climbed into the ship, the wind ceased. 
33 And [the disciples] in the ship worshipped him, saying: 

"Really you are the Son of God !" 

34 And having passed over, they came to the land, to Gennesaret. 
35 And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent to all 
that neighboring country, and brought to him all the invalids ; 36 
and they besought him that only the}- might touch the hem of his 
mantle ; and as many as touched it were cured. 

COMMENTARY 

From the beginning of this fiction to xvi. 12 the text repeats the 
spurious matter inserted in Mark, vi. 45 to viii. 21, of which the 
text of Luke is innocent. Save for a few variations in the wording, 
and the addition of two minor incidents, due to the activity of later 
forgers, the two Synoptics are in perfect harmony. One of these 
added incidents is that of Petros walking on the water, which is in 
Matthew only. 

Chapter xv 

1 Then there come to Iesous from Jerusalem scribes and Phari- 
sees, saying: 

2 "Why do your disciples transgress the tradition of the an- 
cients? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread." 



626 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

3 But he answered and said to them : 

"Why do you also transgress God's commandment on account of 
your tradition? 4 For God [[commanded and said]], 'Honor thy 
father and thy mother,' and e Lct the reviler of father or mother 
come to his end by the death-penalty.' 5 But you say, 'Whoever 
shall say to his father or mother, "That by which you might have 
been helped by me is a votive offering," 6 he shall not [be under 
obligation to] honor his father [[or his mother]] at all.' And you 
have annulled God's law on account of your tradition. 7 Hypo- 
crites ! rightly did Isaiah prophesy concerning you, saying : 

8 'This people honor me with their lips, 
But far from me is their heart. 

9 But they worship me fruitlessly, 

Setting forth [as their'] teachings the injunctions of men.' " 

10 And having called to him the crowd, he said to them: 
"Hear, and understand : 1 1 that which enters the mouth does 

not befoul the man; but that which issues from the mouth, this 
befouls the man." 

12 Then his disciples came and said to him : 

"Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard 
this doctrine?" 

13 But he answered and said: 

"Every plant which my celestial Father did not plant shall be 
rooted up. 14 Leave them: they are blind guides [[of the blind]]. 
And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit." 

1 5 And Petros answered and said to him : 
"Make clear to us the allegory." 

16 But [[Iesous]] said: 

"Are you also unenlightened even yet? 17 Do you not perceive 
that everything which enters into the mouth passes into the belly, and 
is excreted into the privy-vault? 18 But the [impurities] issuing 
from the mouth come out from the heart, and these befoul the man : 
19 for out of the heart come wicked reasonings, murders, adul- 
teries, fornications, thefts, lying testimonies, profanities — 20 these 
are the things which befoul the man. But to eat with unwashed 
hands does not befoul the man." 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 627 

21 And Iesous went forth thence, and withdrew to the districts 
of Tyre and Sidon. 22 And behold, a Kananaean woman came out 
from those regions, and cried out, saying : 

"Have compassion on me, Master, son of David ! My daughter is 
wretchedly possessed by a ghost." 

23 But not a word did he answer her. And his disciples came and 
implored him, saying : 

"Send her away; for she keeps crying after us." 

24 But he answered and said : 

"I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." 

25 But she came and worshipped him, saying: 
"Master, succor me !" 

26 But he answered and said : 

"It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the 
curs." 

27 But she said : 

"Yes, Master ; for even the curs eat of the crumbs that fall from 
the table of their masters." 

28 Then Iesous answered and said to her : 

"O woman, great is your faith; let the [outcome] be to you as 
you wish." 

And from that hour her daughter was healed. 

29 And Iesous departed thence, and came beside the Sea of 
Galilee ; and he went up into the mountain, and he was sitting there. 
30 And to him came many crowds, having with them the lame, 
blind, dumb, maimed, and many others ; and he healed them : 3 1 
so that the crowds wondered, when they saw the dumb speaking, 
the maimed sound-bodied, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; 
and they extolled the God of Israel. 

32 And Iesous called his disciples to him and said: 

"My heart goes out to the crowd, because they are remaining 
with me now three days ; and I am not willing to send them away 
fasting, lest ever they faint on the road." 

33 And the disciples say to him : 

"From what source do we, in a desert place, have so many loaves 
as to fill so great a crowd?" 



628 THE RESTORED NEW .TESTAMENT 

34 And Iesous says to them : 
"How many loaves have you?" 
And they said : 

"Seven, and a few little fishes." 

35 And he ordered the crowd to recline on the ground; 36 and 
he took the seven loaves and the fishes, and after giving thanks, he 
broke them in pieces and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples 
[distributed them] to the crowds. 37 And they all ate, and were 
satisfied. And they took up the remainder of the broken frag- 
ments, seven baskets full. 38 And those who ate were four thou- 
sand men, besides women and children. 39 And having dismissed 
the crowds, he embarked in the ship, and came to the regions of 
Magadan. 

Chapter xvi. 1-T2 

1 And the Pharisees and Sadducees came [to him], and putting 
a test, asked him to display to them a sign out of the sky. 2 But he 
answered and said to them : 

"[[When it is evening, you say, 'Fair weather [to-morrow] ; for 
the sky is fiery red' ; 3 and in the morning, 'Stormy weather to- 
day; for the sky is fiery red and lowering.' [[Hypocrites!]] You 
know how to interpret the face of the sky, but you can not [inter- 
pret] the signs of the seasons.]] 4 A wicked and adulterous age 
keeps seeking after a sign, and a sign shall not be given to it, ex- 
cept the sign of Jonah [[the prophet]]." 

And he left them, and went away. 

5 And the disciples came to the other side and forgot to take 
bread. 6 And Iesous said to them : 

"Take care, and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sad- 
ducees." 

7 And they argued among themselves, saying : 
"We have not taken [any] bread." 

8 And Iesous was aware of it, and said : 

"Why, O scant-faiths, are you arguing among yourselves because 
you have no bread ? 9 Do you not perceive, nor do you remember 
the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many hand-baskets 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 629 

you took up? 10 Neither the seven loaves for the four thousand, 
and how many baskets you took up ? 11 How is it that you do not 
perceive that I did not speak to you concerning bread? But [I 
said], Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees." 

12 Then they understood that he had not told them to beware 
of the leaven [[of bread]], but of the leaven of the Pharisees and 
Sadducees. 

COMMENTARY 

The story of the dumb man recorded in Mark vii. 32-37 is not 
told in Matthew, but a multitude of persons afflicted with dumbness 
and other physical ills are healed in place of him. As the dumb man 
had already been healed on two occasions in the pages of Matthew, 
he was excused from further duty. In other particulars the text of 
Matthew is here a fairly faithful copy of the wretched forgeries 
in Mark. 

Ch. xvi. 13-20 

13 Now, when Iesous had come to the regions of Caesarea 
Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying: 

"Who do men say that the Son of man is ?" 

14 And they said: 

"Some [say he is] Ioannes the Lustrator; some, Elijah; and 
others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets." 

1 5 He says to them : 

"But who do you say that I am ?" 

16 And Simon Petros answered and said: 

"You are the Anointed, the Son of the living God." 

17 And Iesous answered and said to him: 

"Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah, for flesh and blood did 
not unveil [this secret] to you, but my Father who is in the skies. 
18 And I also say to you, You are Petros, and on this rock (petra) 
I will build my church, and the gates of the underworld shall not 
overpower it. 19 And I will give to you the keys of the under- 
world ; and whatever you may bind on the earth shall be bound 
in the skies, and whatever you may unbind on the earth shall 
be unbound in the skies." 



630 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

20 Then he enjoined his disciples that they should tell no one 
that he is the Anointed. 

COMMENTARY 

Simon is here given the keys to the two gates merely because, 
under the name Petros, he had been made the patron saint of the 
church. His authority as guardian of the gates rests solely on this 
passage in Matthew, which, however, contradicts itself, for in xviii. 
18 the power of the gates is conferred on all the twelve disciples. 
Properly, the five disciples are "the keepers of the gates of the 
heaven- world" ; astronomically, four of these disciples are guar- 
dians of the zodiacal gates, while the fifth, Ioudas, is keeper of the 
gateway of the sun. The subject of the gates should go with that 
of the two thrones, which is found later in the text, xx. 20-23. 
The "church" is here an anachronism. How the gates could "over- 
power" the church is a mystery: even if "overpower" is taken to 
mean "be stronger than," the expression is a stupid one. 

Ch. xvi. 21-28 

21 Henceforth Iesous began to explain to his disciples that 
it is inevitable for him to go away to Jerusalem, and suffer 
many things from the elders and chief-priests and scribes, and 
to be killed, and on the third day to be raised up. 22 And Pe- 
tros took him, and began to admonish him, saying : 

" [May fate deal]' propitiously with you, Master ! This [fate] 
shall not at all be yours." 

23 But he turned about and said to Petros : 

"Get behind me, Adversary: you are an impediment to me; 
for your mind is not centred on the things of God, but on the 
things of men." 

24 Then Iesous said to his disciples: 

"If any one wishes to come after me, let him utterly deny 
himself, and take up his cross and go along with me. 25 For 
whoever desires to save his soul shall lose it ; but whoever shall 
lose his soul for the sake of me shall find it. 26 For what 
should a man be profited if he gains the whole world and forfeits 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 631 

his soul? Or what should a man give in exchange for his soul? 
27 For the Son of man is about to come in his Father's glory, 
with his Divinities; and then lie shall recompense each according 
to his deeds.' 28 Amen, I say to you, There are some of the by- 
standers here who shall not at all taste death until they see the Son 
of man coming in his kingdom." 

Chapter xvii. 1-13 

I And after six days Iesous takes with him Petros, and Iako- 
bos, and Ioannes, his brother, and brings them up into a lofty- 
mountain apart; 2 and he was transfigured before them, and 
his face shone as the sun, and his garments became white as 
the light. 3 And behold, to them appeared Moses and Elijah 
talking with him. 4 And Petros answered and said to Iesous: 

"Master, it is good for us to be here : if you wish, I shall build 
here three dwelling-places, one for you, and one for Moses, 
and one for Elijah." 

5 While he was yet speaking, behold, a luminous cloud over- 
shadowed them; and behold, out of the cloud [issued] a voice, 
saying : 

"This is my favorite Son, of whom I have approved; hear 
ye him." 

6 And when they heard it, the disciples fell on their face, and 
were exceedingly terrified. 7 And Iesous came to them, and touch- 
ing them, said : 

"Arise, and do not be terrified." 

8 And when they lifted up their eyes they saw no one, except 
Iesous only. 

9 And as they were descending from the mountain, Iesous 
charged them, saying : 

"Tell the vision to no one, until the Son of man be risen from 
the dead." 

io And the disciples asked him, saying: 

"Why, then, do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?" 

I I And he answered and said : 

"Elijah indeed comes [[first]] and restores all things; 12 but 



632 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

I say to you, Elijah is come already, and they did not recognize 
him, but have done to him whatever they desired. So also the Son 
of man is about to suffer from them." 

13 Then the disciples understood that he spoke to them of Ioan- 
nes the Lustrator. 

COMMENTARY 

The passage relating to Ioannes the Lustrator as a reincarnation 
of Elijah is omitted by Luke, and the compiler of that Gospel in 
other passages also avoids the subject of reincarnation. Presuma- 
bly this is because Luke is of later date than the other Synoptics, and 
the doctrine of reincarnation, being inconsistent with that of eternal 
damnation, was becoming objectionable to the church, which later 
on officially declared it to be heretical. In a number of other in- 
stances Matthew and Mark both contain interpolations that are not 
in Luke; while, on the other hand, there are a few places where 
Luke agrees with Matthew in a slight variation from the text of 
Mark, but this agreement is probably due to the work of later for- 
gers, who made feeble attempts to harmonize the readings in the 
Gospels. There are many instances, in later manuscripts, of such 
ineffectual attempts to produce harmony by transferring readings 
from one Gospel to another. These interpolations are now rejected 
on the authority of the older manuscripts, yet the latter also have 
clearly been subjected to the same process of copying from one text 
into another. 

Ch. xvii. 14-21 

14 And when they came to the crowd, a man came to him, falling 
on the knee to him, and saying : 

15 "Master, have compassion on my son: for he is moon-struck, 
and suffers miserably; for often he falls into the fire, and often into 
the water. 16 And I brought him to your disciples, and they were 
unable to cure him." 

17 And Iesous answered and said: 

"O unbelieving and perverted age, until when shall I be with 
you? Until when shall I bear with you? Bring him to me." 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 633 

1 8 And Iesous reproved him, and the ghost went out from him ; 
. ::d from that hour the boy was cured. 19 Then the disciples came 
Iesous privately, and said: 

"Why were we unable to cast him out?" 

20 And he said to them : 

"Because of your unbelievingness. For, amen, I say to you, If 
you have faith as a grain of mustard seed you shall say to this 
mountain, 'Remove from here to there' ; and it shall remove ; and 
nothing shall be impossible to you. [[21 But this kind does not 
go out except by prayer and fasting.]]" 

COMMENTARY 

The spurious portions of Mark are often much longer than their 
parallels in the other Synoptics, apparently because the compilers of 
the latter, recognizing the inferiority of these interpolations, con- 
densed them with a view to making them less objectionable. In 
Matthew's version of the moon-struck boy there is a characteristic 
repetition, the "saying" about faith and the mountain having been 
borrowed from xxi. 21, but turned into an absurdity by the intro- 
duction of the mustard seed as a measure of faith. Faith as incon- 
siderable as a mustard seed can produce only proportionally insig- 
nificant results. Verse 21 is evidently an addition made by a later 
textual harmonizer, who transferred it from Mark ix. 29. The 
epileptic son was an "only-born" (monogenes) according to Luke, 
who elsewhere also displays a preference for small families. 

Ch. xvii. 22-27 

22 Now, while they were gathering themselves together in Gali- 
lee, Iesous said to them : 

"The Son of man is about to be handed over into the hands of 
men, 23 and they will kill him; and on the third day he shall 
be raised [from the dead]." 

And they were exceedingly grieved. 

24 And when they came to Kapernaum, the [collectors] who 
receive the double-drachmas [as tribute] came to Petros and said: 



634 TH E RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

"Does not your Teacher pay the double-drachmas?" 

25 Says he: 
"Yes." 

And when he entered into the house, lesous anticipated him, 
saying : 

"What is your opinion, Simon? From whom do the kings of the 
earth receive tolls and tributes — from their sons, or from for- 
eigners ?" 

26 And when he had said, "From foreigners," lesous said to 
him: 

"Surely, then, the sons are exempt. 27 But that we may not 
offend them, go to the sea and cast a fish-hook, and take the first 
fish that comes up ; and on opening its mouth you will find a stater : 
take that, and give it to them for me and you." 

COMMENTARY 

As a stater was of the value of four drachmas, the coin ab- 
stracted from the fish would pay the tax for lesous and Petros ; but 
what was done in the case of the other disciples is left a matter 
for conjecture. It is not improbable that money should be found 
in a fish, though it is remarkable that the first fish caught should be 
so opportunely provided— if things happened as lesous had foretold 
— with the exact sum required; hence this incident need not be re- 
garded as a miracle, but merely as a "fish-story." 

Chapter xviii. 1-14 

1 In that hour the disciples came to lesous, saying : 
"Who, then, is more mature in the kingdom of the skies?" 

2 And he called to him a little child, and set him in their 
midst, 3 and said: 

"Amen, I say to you, Unless you turn about and become as 
little children, you shall not at all enter into the kingdom of 
the skies. 4 Whoever," therefore, shall humble himself as this 
little child, he is more mature in the kingdom of the skies. 5 
And whoever shall entertain one such little child in my name 
. . 6 but whoever shall place an impediment 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 635 

in the way of one of these little ones who believe in me, it is 
profitable for him that a ponderous millstone should be hung 
about his neck, and he should be drowned in the depths of the 
sea. 7 Woe to the world because of impediments ! For it is 
necessary that the impediments come ; but woe to that man 
through whom the impediment comes ! 8 And if your hand 
or your foot is an impediment to you, amputate it, and throw 
it away from you; it is good for you to enter into the [seonian] 
life limping or maimed, [rather] than having two hands or two 
feet to be thrown into the seonian fire. 9 And if your eye is an 
impediment to you, gouge it out, and throw it away from you ; 
it is good for you to enter into the [seonian] life one-eyed, 
[rather] than having two eyes to be thrown into the Hinnom- 
valley of fire. 10 See that you do not despise one of these little 
ones; for I say to you, In the skies their Divinities always be- 
hold the face of my Father who is in the skies. [[11 For the 
Son of man is come to save that which is lost.]" 12 What is 
your opinion? If any man should have a hundred sheep, and 
one of them be gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine, 
and go on the mountains and seek that stray [sheep] ? 13 And 
if it should be that he finds it, amen, I say to you, He rejoices 
more over it than over the ninety-nine which have not gone 
astray. 14 Thus it is not the will of your Father who is in the 
skies, that one of these little ones should perish. 

COMMENTARY 

Between verses 5 and 6 there is clearly a lacuna: "these little ones 
who believe in me" of verse 6 are not identical with "one such little 
child" of verse 5. These two verses correspond respectively to 
verses 37 and 42 of Mark ix, where the intervening verses contain 
the beautiful story of the healer who was not a follower of Iesous. 
In Luke that story occupies the same place in the text as in Mark; 
but instead of it Matthew has, in verses 8 and 9, a repetition of the 
fanatical and grimly savage utterances given in Ch. v. 29, 30. It is 
therefore apparent that the text of Matthew was here the same as 
that of Mark until some bigoted forger, disapproving of the broad 



636 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

tolerance inculcated in the story of the non-apostolic healer, erased 
it and filled the space thus left in the manuscript with the other 
doctrine that was more to his liking. 

Ch. xviii. 15-35 

15 "But if your brother sins [[against you]], go and reprove 
him between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won 
your brother over. 16 But if he will not listen, take with you one 
or two besides, that 'on the mouth of two witnesses or three every 
word may be confirmed. ' ij But if he fails to listen to them, tell 
it to the church; and if he fails also to listen to the church, let him 
be to you as the heathen and the tax-collector. 18 Amen, I say to 
you, Whatever things you may bind on the earth shall be 
bound in the sky, and whatever things you may unbind on the 
earth shall be unbound in the sky. 19 Again, [[amen]], I say 
to you, If two of you shall agree together on earth as respects 
any affair which they shall request for themselves, it shall be 
their portion from my Father who is in the skies. 20 For 
where there are two or three gathered together in my name, 
there am I in the midst of them." 

21 Then Petros came and said [[to him]] : 

"Master, how many times shall my brother sin against me, and 
I forgive him ? Until seven times ?" 

22 Iesous says to him : 

"I do not say to you, Until seven times, but, Until seventy times 
seven. 23 For this reason the realm of the skies has been likened to 
a king who proposed to adjust accounts with his slaves. 24 And 
when he had begun to adjust [the accounts], there was brought to 
him one who owed ten thousand talents. 25 But, as he did not have 
[the money] to pay, his master ordered him to be sold, and his wife 
and children, and all the things he possessed, and [the debt] to be 
paid. 26 The slave therefore fell down and did homage to him, say- 
ing, 'Master, be lenient with me, and I will pay you all.' 27 And, his 
heart being stirred, the master of that slave set him free, and remitted 
to him the loan. 28 But that slave went out and found one of his 
fellow-slaves, who was owing him a hundred denarii; and he seized 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 637 

him, and throttled him, saying, 'Pay [ [me] ] whatever you owe.' 29 
Thereupon his fellow-slave fell down [[at his feet]], and en- 
treated him, saying-, 'Be lenient with me, and I will pay you 
[[all]]-' 3° But he was unwilling, and went and threw him into 
prison, until he should pay what was owing. 31 Thereupon his 
fellow-slaves, when they saw these happenings, were exceedingly 
grieved, and they came and announced to their master all these hap- 
penings. 32 Then his master called him to him, and says to him : 
'You wicked slave, I remitted to you all that debt, since you entreated 
me : 33 should not you also have shown mercy on your fellow- 
slave, even as I showed mercy on you?' 34 And his master was 
indignant, and handed him over to the torturers until he should 
pay all that was owing. 35 Thus also shall my celestial Father do 
to you, if you do not each forgive his brother from your hearts 
[[their misdeeds]]." 

COMMENTARY 

The word ekklesia, "church," is found nowhere in the Gospels 
save in the above passage and in'xvi. 18, where Petros is said to be 
the rock upon which the "church" was to be founded. Even those 
who believe in the historicity of the New Testament concede that 
there was no church in existence during the lifetime of Iesous. The 
theological explanation that "church" was written inadvertently for 
"kingdom" in the promise to Petros only makes matters worse, by 
designating Petros as the building-site of the kingdom of heaven ! 
The theory that Iesous was speaking prophetically is untenable ; for 
in this discourse on the forgiveness of sins an organized church 
is referred to as being then in working order. The only rational 
explanation is that both passages are impudent forgeries. 

The amount which the slave owed his master was ten million 
dollars. After his royal master has remitted to him this trifling 
loan, he unsuccessfully attempts to collect a debt of seventeen dollars 
from a fellow-slave, whom he throttles and sends to prison. Hear- 
ing of this, the king demands payment of the ten-million-dollar loan, 
and turns the unforgiving slave over to the men who employed the 
rack and other ingenious instruments of torture in the endeavor to 



638 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

extract from him the ten million dollars which he did not possess ; 
and the collectors were to torture him until he paid it all. This 
nonsense is gravely presented as an "allegory" on the forgiveness 
of sins, spoken by the incarnate Son of God ! 

Chapter xix. 1-12 

I And it befell that when Iesous had finished [enunciating] 
these doctrines he withdrew from Galilee, and came to the borders 
of Judaea beyond the Jordan ; 2 and numerous crowds went along 
after him, and he healed them there. 

3 And Pharisees came to him, putting him to a test, saying : 
"Is it lawful [[for a man]] to divorce his wife on every 

ground of accusation?" 

4 And he answered and said [[to them]] : 

"Have you not read that the World-builder 'made them' 
from the primal element 'male and female/ 5 and said, 'On 
this account, a man shall leave his father and his mother, and shall 
be cemented to his wife, and the two shall become one carnal body ? 
6 So that they are no longer two, but one carnal body. What, 
therefore, God has yoked together, let not man separate." 

7 They say to him : 

"Why, then, did Moses command 'to give a bill of divorce, 
and to divorce [ [her] ] ' ?" 

8 He says to them: 

"Moses, in view of your hard-heartedness, allowed you to 
divorce your wives. But [man] has not thus sprung from the 
primal element. 9 And I say to you, Whoever shall divorce his 
wife, except for fornication, and shall marry another, commits 
adultery; [[and he who marries the divorced [woman] commits 
adultery]]." 

10 The disciples say to him: 

"If thus is the accusation against man, along with woman, 
it is not advisable to marry." 

II But he said to them: 

"Not all [men] are capable of receiving this arcane doctrine, 
but [only those] who are gifted. (12 For there are emascu- 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 639 

lates who were thus born from their mother's belly, and there 
are emasculates who were emasculated by men, and there are emas- 
culates who emasculated themselves with a view to the kingdom of 
the skies.) He who is able to receive it, let him receive it." 

COMMENTARY 

Of this screed on the subject of divorce, Luke contains but one 
sentence, which is similar to verse 5, and the latter is a repetition 
of v. 32. The phrase translated "bill of divorce" might be more 
literally rendered "certificate of desertion," implying that the wife 
had repudiated her husband's protection; while apoluein, rendered 
"to put away" in the authorized version, is strictly "to release," "to 
set free," giving the subject a cheerfulness unwelcome to the eccle- 
siastical mind. The coarsely worded parenthetical clause about 
emasculates, or eunuchs, interrupts the sense, and is obviously an 
interpolation. The forger who foisted in the text this revolting 
statement failed to perceive that it does not tally with the preceding 
quotation, falsified from the Hebrew scriptures, to the effect that 
God made human beings male and female, and that man and wife 
are indissolubly cemented together by marriage. The true ancient 
teaching is that the soul itself is sexless, and that in the evolution 
of the physical form human beings were androgynous before they 
fell into generation, the "fall" being the separation into sexes. 

Ch. xix. 13-30 

13 Then were brought to him little children, that he should 
lay his hands on them, and pray; but the disciples reproved 
them. 14 But Iesous said: 

"Permit the little children, and do not forbid them, to come 
to me : for to such belongs the kingdom of the skies." 

1 5 And having laid his hands on them, he went away from there. 

16 And behold, one came to him and said: 

"[[Good]] Teacher, what good [work] shall I do that I may 
have seonian life?" 

17 And he said to him: 

"Why do you ask me about the Good ? There is One who is the 



640 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Good. But if you would enter into [seonian] life, strictly keep the 
commandments." 

18 He says to him : 

"Which?" 

And Iesous said: 

" 'Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou 
shalt not steal, Thou shalt not testify falsely, 19 Honor thy father 
and thy mother/ and, 'Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.' " 

20 Says the young man to him : 

"All these things I have observed. What do I lack yet?" 

21 Iesous said to him: 

"If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your property, and give the 
[proceeds] to the mendicants, and you will have treasure in the sky. 
And come, follow me." 

22 But when the young man heard [[this]], he went away 
grieved ; for he was one who had great possessions. 23 And Iesous 
said to his disciples : 

"Amen, I say to you, With difficulty shall a rich man enter into 
the kingdom of the skies. 24 And again I say to you, It is more 
feasible for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a 
rich man to enter into the kingdom of God." 

25 And the disciples, when they heard [this doctrine], were ex- 
ceedingly astonished, saying: 

"Who, then, can be saved?" 

26 But Iesous, gazing at [them], said to them: 

"This is impossible with men; but all things are possible with 
God." 

27 Then Petros answered and said to him: 

"Look, we have left all, and have followed you. What, then, 
are we to get?" 

28 And Iesous said to them: 

"Amen, I say to you, You who have followed me, in the new 
birth when the Son of man shall sit on the throne of his glory, 
you also shall sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes 
of Israel. 29 And every one who has left houses, or brothers, 
or sisters, or father, or mother, [[or wife]], or children, or 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 641 

lands, for my name's sake, shall receive many times as many, 
and shall inherit aeonian life. 30 But many [who are] first shall 
be last, and last, first. 

COMMENTARY 

In later manuscripts, which are followed by the received text, the 
rich man addresses Iesous as "Good Master," and Iesous asks him, 
"Why do you call me 'good' ?" This change was made to harmonize 
the text with that of Mark and Luke. But between the two read- 
ings, in point of stupidity, there is little to choose. As a teacher 
of spiritual philosophy Iesous should have welcomed questions con- 
cerning the Good, the Beautiful and the True. The words "Good 
Teacher" are merely a polite form of address, and the adjective, so 
used, is not strong enough to sustain the statement which Iesous 
bases upon it; and on the theological theory that Iesous is God's 
only Son, it is difficult to see why he should disclaim being good. 
If he was not good, he must have had evil elements in his nature. 
The second question asked by the rich man implies that in his opin- 
ion some of the commandments need not be observed by aspirants 
for immortality; and this is certainly true of the injunction relating 
to the observance of the sabbath. According to Matthew the rich 
man was even more exemplary than he was according to the other 
Synoptics: for here he loves his neighbor. However, as he did not 
love the beggars sufficiently to beggar himself for their benefit, he 
failed to go through the needle's eye. Some commentators hold 
that the text should read KoifjuXov, "a rope," instead of KafxrjXov, 
"a camel" ; but in making this emendation the former word had 
to be invented, as the Greek language possesses no such word. The 
invention of a gate at Jerusalem which was too narrow for camels 
to go through is another disingenuous device to "explain" the text. 
But in any case the saying expresses an impossibility; therefore it 
follows that heaven is reserved exclusively for poor people. 
* Here each of the twelve disciples is to occupy a throne, the for- 
gers having neglected to deprive Ioudas of his heavenly seat. But 
in Luke xxii. 30 the number of thrones is not stated, some inspired 
historian having thoughtfully erased the word "twelve." 



642 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Chapter xx. 1-16 

i "For the kingdom of the skies is like to a house-lord who went 
out at break of day to hire laborers for his vineyard. 2 And when 
he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them 
into his vineyard. 3 And he went out about the third hour, and 
saw others standing in the market-place idle; 4 and to them he 
said: 

" 'Do you go also into the vineyard, and I shall give you whatever 
is just.' 

5 "And they went. Again he went out about the sixth and the 
ninth hour, and did in just the same way. 6 And about the eleventh 
[[hour]] he went out and found others standing [[idle]]; and 
he says to them : 

" 'Why do you stand here the whole day idle ?' 

7 "They say to him : 

" 'Because no one has hired us.' 

"He says to them : 

" 'Do you also go into the vineyard.' 

8 "And when evening came the master of the vineyard says to 
his overseer: 

" 'Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning from 
the last unto the first.' 

9 "And when those came who [had been hired] about the elev- 
enth hour, they received each a denarius. 10 And when the first 
came, they presumed that they would receive more ; and they likewise 
received a denarius. 1 1 And when they received it they grumbled 
against the house-lord, 12 saying: 

" 'These last [comers] have worked [only] one hour, and you 
have made them equal to us, who have borne the burden of the 
day and the burning heat.' 

13 "But he answered and said to one of them: 

" 'Comrade, I am not doing you injustice. Did you not agree 
with me for a denarius ? 14 Take what is yours, and go: I am 
willing to give [a denarius] to this last [comer], as also to you. 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 643 

15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Or 
is your eye sore because I am good ?' 

16 "So the last shall be first, and the first last. [[For many 
are probationers, but few are those who are culled out.]]" 

COMMENTARY 

The suggestion that laborers unable to obtain employment should 
receive wages during the time of their enforced idleness is an excel- 
lent one; but their employer could not be expected to make up for 
the time they had lost before he hired them. But the author of 
the "allegory" did -not intend to suggest this, and all that can be 
implied from the story is that the laborer should receive not less 
than a day's wages, even if he works but one hour. This may 
be a sound economic doctrine; but it is certain that this otherwise 
meaningless fiction has no place among the superb allegories of the 
kingdom. 

Ch. xx. 17-28 

17 And when Iesous was about to go up to Jerusalem, he 
took the twelve disciples apart; and on the road he said to 
them: 

18 "Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of 
man will be handed over to the chief-priests and scribes, and 
they will sentence him to death, 19 and hand him over to the 
profane, to make sport of, and to scourge, and to crucify; and 
on the third day he will rise [from the dead]." 

20 Then came to him the mother of the sons of Zebedaios 
w T ith her sons, making obeisance and asking a certain thing of 
him. 21 And he said to her: 

"What do you wish?" 

She says to him : 

"Declare that these my two sons may sit, one at your right 
hand, and one at your left hand, in your kingdom." 

22 But Iesous answered and said: 

"You know not what you ask. Are ye able to drink the cup 



644 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

which I am about to drink [[and to be lustrated with the lus- 
tration with which I am being lustrated]]?" 

They say to him: 

"We are able." 

23 He says to them: 

"You shall indeed drink my cup [ [and shall be lustrated with 
the lustration with which I am being lustrated] ] ; but to sit at 
my right hand and at [my] left hand is not mine to grant; but 
[you are the two] for whom it has been prepared by my 
Father." 

24 And the ten, when they heard [this], were displeased 
about the two brothers. 25 But Iesous called them to him, and 
said: 

"You know that the rulers of the profane hold them in sub- 
jection, and their great ones domineer over them. 26 Among 
you it is not so; but whoever wishes to become great among 
you shall be your servant, 27 and whoever wishes to be first 
among you shall be your slave; 28 even as the Son of man 
did not come to be served, but to do service, and to give his 
life as a ransom for many." 

COMMENTARY 

In Mark it is the two disciples themselves who ask to be seated 
on the thrones of honor. But Matthew, to make them appear less 
self-seeking, has their mother speak for them, and then, copying 
the text of Mark, has Iesous address the answer to them, "Ye know 
not what ye ask," thus betraying the fact that the disciples, and not 
their mother, asked the question. Even the lacuna in Mark x. 40 
is reproduced. In Lake the two thrones are not mentioned, but in 
Chapter xxii the question as to which of the disciples is greatest 
is brought up during the "last supper," immediately after the dis- 
cussion concerning who is to make the paradosis, and the twelve 
thrones are referred to. This is where the incident properly be- 
longs; and Luke has here the same teaching about "service" as the 
other Synoptics. Instead of two "thrones," two "swords" are 
spoken of, very inappropriately. Thus it would seem that in Mark 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 645 

and Matthew the passage is dislocated; while in Luke it has been 
mutilated almost beyond recognition, the allusion to the two thrones 
having been expunged and a spurious incident about two swords 
substituted for it. 

Ch. xx. 29-34 

29 And as they were going out from Jericho, a numerous crowd 
followed him. 30 And behold, two blind men sitting beside the 
road, when they heard that Iesous is passing by, shouted, saying: 

"Master, have compassion on us, son of David !" 

31 And the crowd reproved them, that they should be silent: 
but they shouted the more, saying: 

"Master, have compassion on us, son of David!" 

32 And Iesous halted, and called to them, and said : 
"What do you wish I should do to you?" 

33 They say to him : 

"Master, that our eyes may be opened." 

34 And Iesous, his heart being stirred, touched their eyes; and 
immediately they recovered their sight, and went along with him. 

Chapter xxi. i-ii 

1 And when they drew near to Jerusalem, and came to 
Bethphage, towards the mountain of the olive-trees, then Iesous 
sent two disciples, 2 saying to them: 

"Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will 
find an ass tied, and with her a colt. Untie [them] and bring 
[them] to me. 3 And if any one says anything to you, you shall 
say, 'The Master has need of them, and immediately he will 
send them [back].' " 

4 Now, this befell, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken 
through the prophet, saying: 

5 "Tell ye the daughter of Sion, 
Behold thy King cometh unto thee, 

Meek, and mounted on an ass, 

And a colt, the foal of a beast of burden/' 

6 And the disciples went and did just as Iesous had directed 



646 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

them, 7 and brought the ass and the colt, and put their cloaks 
on them; and he bestrode them. 8 And the most [of the] 
crowd strewed their cloaks on the road; but others were cut- 
ting branches from the trees, and were strewing them on the 
road. 9 And the crowds, those going before and those fol- 
lowing, kept shouting, saying: 

"Hosanna to the son of David ! 'Blessed is he who [is] coming 
in the Master's name/ Hosanna in the highest [heavens] !" 

10 And as he entered into Jerusalem, all the city was put in 
commotion, saying: 

"Who is this?" 

1 1 And the crowds said : 

"This is the prophet Iesous, who [is] from Nazareth of Galilee." 

COMMENTARY 

This "prophecy" of the coming of Iesous is fabricated partly 
from Isaiah lxii. 11 and partly from Zechariah ix. 9. The latter 
speaks of the king "riding upon an ass, even upon a colt the foal of 
an ass," meaning but one animal and not two. The Ass and the 
Manger are in the sign Cancer; and Aratos (Diosetneia, 160-176) 
speaks of two Asses. Possibly Asellus Borealis and Asellus 
Australis are to be understood here; but more probably the forger 
who inserted the "prophecy" was misled by the poetical language of 
the Hebrew prophet. 

Ch. xxi. 12-22 

12 And Iesous entered into the temple [[of God]] and 
drove out all those selling and buying in the temple, and over- 
turned the tables of the money-changers, and the seats of those 
who were selling the doves. 13 And he says to them: 

"It is written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer'; but 
you are making it 'a den of robbers/ " 

14 And the blind and the lame came to him in the temple, and 
he healed them. 15 But when the chief-priests and the scribes saw 
the wonders which he wrought, and the children shouting in the 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 647 

temple and saying, "Hosanna to the son of David!" they were in- 
dignant, 16 and said to him: 

"Do you hear what these are saying?" 

And Iesous says to them : 

"Yes ; did you never read, 'Out of the mouths of infants and suck- 
lings thou hast prepared praise' ?" 

17 And he left them, and went outside the city to Bethany 
and passed the night there, [[and taught them the kingdom 
of God]]. 

18 Now, at break of day, as he was coming back into the 
city, he was hungry. 19 And seeing a lone fig-tree by the 
road, he came to it, and found nothing on it but leaves only; 
and he says to it: 

"May no fruit be produced from thee any more throughout 
the aeon!" 

And instantly the fig-tree dried up. 20 And when the dis- 
ciples saw it they wondered, saying : 

"How did the fig-tree instantly dry up?" 

21 And Iesous answered and said to them: 

"Amen, I say to you, If you have faith, and do not doubt, 
you shall not only cause the [drying-up] of the fig-tree, but 
even if you should say to this mountain, 'Be removed and 
thrown into the sea/ it shall happen. 22 And all things what- 
soever you may ask in prayer, believing, you shall receive." 

COMMENTARY 

Verses 14-16 are obviously forged by the pen of a priest, who 
invented the implausible incident of children shouting in the temple, 
basing it upon a quotation from the Old Testament. 

The passage about "faith" leads up to the "Lord's prayer," and 
the parallel in Mark does so even more clearly. But the prayer is 
not found in Mark; in Matthew it is transferred to the "sermon on 
the mount"; and in Luke it is placed at random in the miscellaneous 
matter constituting the so-called periscope, the incident of the fig- 
tree being omitted, no doubt for a good reason. Iesous goes to the 
fig-tree to look for fruit on it because he is hungry, and the "Lord's 



648 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

prayer" contains a petition for food. It may well be that the prayer 
itself, like the fig-tree, was reminiscent of the "pagan" Mysteries, 
and the text was mutilated in order to conceal the fact. 

Ch. xxi. 23-46 

23 And when he came into the temple the chief -priests and 
the elders came to him as he was teaching, and said: 

"By what authority are you doing these things?" and, "Who 
gave you this authority?" 

24 And Iesous answered and said to them: 

"I also shall put to you a question as to one doctrine, which 
if you tell me, I also will tell you by what authority I am doing 
these things. 25 From what source was the lustral-rite of 
Ioannes — from the heaven-world or from men?" 

And they argued among themselves, saying: 

"Should we say, 'From the heaven-world/ he will say to us, 
'Then why did you not believe him?' 26 But should we say, 
'From men,' we fear the crowd; for all hold Ioannes as a seer." 

27 And they answered Iesous and said: 

"We do not know." 

He also said to them : 

"Neither do I tell you by what authority I am doing these 
things. 28 But what is your opinion? A man had two chil- 
dren; and he came to the first and said: 

" 'Child, go work to-day in my vineyard.' 

29 "But he answered and said: 

" 'I will not.' 

"But afterwards he repented and went. 30 And he came 
to the second, and said to him likewise. And he answered and 
said: 

"'I [will go], master/ 

"And he did not go. 3 1 Which of the two did the will of his 
father?" 

They say [ [to him] ] : 

"The first." 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 649 

Iesous says to them: 

"Amen, I say to you, The tax-collectors and the prostitutes 
are going before you into the kingdom of God. 32 For 
Ioannes came to you in the path of morality, and you did not 
believe him; but the tax-collectors and the prostitutes did 
believe him: and you, when you saw it, did not even repent 
afterwards, that you might believe him. 33 Hear another 
allegory. There was a [[certain]] man, a house-lord, who 
'planted a vineyard, and placed a hedge about it, and dug a wine-' 
vat in it, and built a tower,' and leased it to husbandmen, and 
went travelling abroad. 34 And when the season of the fruits 
drew near, he sent his slaves to the husbandmen to receive its 
fruits. 35 But the husbandmen laid hold of his slaves, and 
they beat one, and killed another, and pelted another with 
stones. 36 Again he sent other slaves more than the first, and 
they did to them in like manner. 37 But at last he sent to them 
his son, saying, 'They will revere my son.' 38 But the husband- 
men, when they saw the son, said among themselves: 

; 'This is the heir ; come, let us kill him, and take his inheri- 
tance.' 

39 "And they laid hold of him, and killed him, and threw 
him out of the vineyard. 40 When, therefore, the master of 
the vineyard comes, what will he do to those husbandmen?" 

41 They say to him : 

"The wretches ! He will wretchedly destroy them, and will 
lease the vineyard to other husbandmen, who will render him 
the fruits in their seasons." 

42 Iesous says to them : 

"Did you never read in the scriptures : 

" 'The stone zvhich the builders rejected, 

The same has become the head of the corner; 
This came from the Master, 

And it is wondrous in our eyes' 1 
43 For this reason I say to you, The kingdom of God shall be 
taken from you, and shall be given to a nation producing the fruits 



650 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

of it. [[44 And he who falls on this stone shall be crushed to- 
gether; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will winnow him.]]" 

45 And when the chief-priests and the Pharisees heard his 
allegories, they perceived that he is speaking about them. 46 
And when they sought to seize him, they feared the crowds, 
because they held him as a seer. 

COMMENTARY 

The allegory of the two sons is peculiar to Matthew, and in a 
variant reading of it the first son says he will go to the vineyard, 
but fails to do so; the second refuses, but changes his mind and 
goes; and the answer given by the priests is therefore, "The sec- 
ond," instead of "The first." 

Both these allegories relate to the vineyard; and Iesous figures 
in the second one as the son and heir of the "Lord of the Vine- 
yard," which is a title of Dionysos. The garbled quotation from the 
Old Testament is misapplied as well as distorted: it has been 
crowded into the text in the effort to give a Jewish coloring to the 
discourse of Iesous. The w r ords, "This is Yahveh's doing," are 
misquoted as, "This is from the Master" ; and the stupid statement 
is made that any one who falls on the corner-stone will be "crushed 
together," and that the corner-stone will "winnow" any one on 
whom it falls. As grapes are "crushed together" in the wine-press, 
and grain is "winnowed," it is evident that the forgers have sub- 
stituted the Old Testament corner-stone for the wine-press and the 
winnowing-fan of the Lord Dionysos. The corner-stone itself 
would never have suggested, save to the forger's fatuous mind, the 
processes of "crushing together" and "winnowing," nor would any 
one but a literary bungler thus connect a corner-stone, a grind- 
stone or a millstone with an allegory of a vineyard. Verse 44 is an 
interpolation, being taken from Luke xx. 18. 

Chapter xxii. 1-14 

1 And Iesous again answered and spoke in allegories to 
them, saying: 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 651 

2 "The kingdom of the skies has been likened to a certain 
king who made a wedding-feast for his son, 3 and sent his 
slaves to call those who had been invited to the wedding-feast ; 
and they would not come. 4 Again he sent other slaves, say- 
ing: 

" 'Say to those who have been invited, "Behold, I have pre- 
pared my banquet; my oxen and fatlings are slaughtered, and 
all things are ready: come to the wedding-feast." 

5 "But they slighted [the invitation], and went away, one to 
his own farm, another to his traffic; 6 and the rest laid hold 
of his slaves, maltreated them, and killed them. 7 But the 
king [ [when he heard it] ] was enraged ; and he sent his armies, 
and destroyed those murderers, and burned their city. 8 Then 
he says to his slaves : 

" 'The wedding-banquet is ready, but those who were in- 
vited were not worthy. 9 Go, therefore, to the cross-roads, 
and as many as you shall find, invite to the wedding-feast.' 

10 "And those slaves went out into the highways, and 
brought together all, as many as they found, both bad and 
good, and the bride-chamber was filled with guests. 11 But 
when the king came in to see the guests, he beheld there a man 
who had not put on a wedding-garment; 12 and he says to 
him: 

" 'Comrade, how did you come in here not having on a wed- 
ding-garment ?' - 

"And he was speechless. 13 Then the king said to the 
slaves : 

"'Bind him hand and foot, [[and take him away,]] and 
throw him out into the outer darkness.' 

"In that place there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 
14 For many are probationers, but few are those who are 
culled out." 

COMMENTARY 

The mystic marriage was a feature of the Mysteries of Demeter 7 
especially as celebrated by women in the Thesmophoria. In this 



652 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

allegory the gathering of guests from the cross-roads is a pecu- 
liarly Greek touch. It was at the cross-roads, the place where three 
ways met, that beggars and paupers gathered together to eat 
"Hekate's feast," which consisted of the food used in the house- 
purifying rites of Hekate. For lack of other guests, the king has 
these poor persons brought in to partake of the wedding- feast. 
Obviously the rejected guest is merely sent back to the unsavory 
repast at the cross-roads. Between this conception, strong and 
beautiful, and that of the "outer darkness," where there is "weeping 
and gnashing of teeth," there is a literary gulf. The compiler of 
Matthew has also shown poor judgment in placing this allegory of 
the kingdom with the two allegories of the vineyard, and in making 
it apply to the "scribes and Pharisees." Luke places it in the chaotic 
periscope, with an absurd introduction, but with a more reasonable 
ending than the one it has in Matthew; but in Luke it is not ex- 
pressly referred to the kingdom, while in Matthew the "kingdom" 
is improperly said to be like a "king." The saying concerning the 
probationers — "the called" — is absurdly dislocated; it is theologized 
from the Bakchic saying quoted by Plato (Phaidon, p. 69), "For 
'many,' as they say in the Mysteries, 'are the thyrsos-bearers, but 
few are the initiates.' " 

Ch. xxii. 15-33 

15 Then the Pharisees went and consulted how they might en- 
snare him in doctrine. 16 And they sent to him their disciples, 
with the Herodians, saying: 

"Teacher, we know that you are truthful, and teach the path of 
God in truth, and are not concerned about any one ; for you do not 
look at the external appearance of men. 17 Tell us therefore, 
What is your opinion? Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or 
not?" 

18 But Iesous, knowing their knavery, said: 

"Why do you put me to a test, you dissemblers? 19 Show me 
the tribute-coin." 

And they brought to him a denarius. 20 And he says to them : 

"Whose is this image and inscription ?" 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 653 

21 They say to him : 
"Caesar's." 

Then he says to them : 

"Render, therefore, to Caesar the things due to Caesar, and to 
God the things due to God." 

22 And when they heard it they regarded [him] with admira- 
tion, and left him, and went away. 

23 On that day there came to him Sadducees (who say there is 
no resurrection), and they put to him a question, 24 saying: 

"Teacher, Moses said, 'If any one should die, not having children, 
his brother shall enter into affinity with his wife, and raise up seed 
to his brother.' 25 Now, there were with us seven brothers : and 
the first married and deceased, and, having no seed, left his wife to 
his brother ; 26 and in like manner the second also, and the third, 
up to the seven. 27 And last of all the woman died. 28 In the 
resurrection, then, of which one of the seven will she be the wife? 
For they all had her." 

29 And Iesous answered and said to them : 

"You are mistaken, not knowing the scriptures or the power 
of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are 
given in marriage, but are like the Divinities in the skies. 31 
But, in reference to the resurrection of the dead, have you not 
read what was spoken to you by God, saying, 32 'The God of 
Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob am I'? God 
is not [[the God]] of the dead, but of the living." 

33 And when the crowds heard it, they were astounded at his 
teaching. 

COMMENTARY 

The compiler of Matthew, to whom the subject of levirate mar- 
riages was an unfamiliar one, must have been reading about it in 
the Septuagint, whence he derived the Jewish and un-Hellenic 
meaning for the verb epigambreaein; for he uses it in the same sense 
which is given it in that Greek translation of the Hebrew scrip- 
tures. The revised version renders it here, as likewise the Hebrew 
word for which it stands in Genesis xviii. 8, "to perform the duties 



654 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

of a husband's brother." But the compiler's exhaustive study of 
the Hebrew writings (in their Greek dress) failed to unearth any- 
better evidence that the ancient Jews believed in a future life than 
the assertion that Yahveh is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. 
Later theologians have hardly been more successful ; and it is cer- 
tain that in the Mosaic law there is no reference to a future state 
of rewards and punishments. The "argument" here placed in the 
mouth of Iesous is as absurd as is the statement that the Sadducees 
did not know their own scriptures. The "crowds" might well be 
astounded at the teaching of this pseudo-Iesous, especially when 
he states that because a denarius had the image and inscription of 
Caesar stamped upon it, it should be rendered to Caesar as tribute. 

Ch. xxii. 34-40 

34 But the Pharisees, when they heard that he had silenced 
the Sadducees, came together to him. 35 And one of them, a 
lawyer, put to him a question, testing him, [[and saying]] : 

36 "Teacher, which [is the] great commandment in the 
law?" 

37 And he said to him: 

" 'Thou shalt love thy Master-God with all thy heart, and with 
all thy soul, and with all thy mind.' 38 This is the first and great 
commandment. 39 And there is a second like it, 'Thou shalt 
love thy neighbor as thyself.' 40 On these two command- 
ments hang the whole law and the prophets." 

COMMENTARY 

The Sadducees having been "silenced" by the merest pretence of 
an argument, a Pharisee versed in the Mosaic law is now given an 
opportunity to confute Iesous. But according to Mark this learned 
scribe attempts nothing of the sort; on the contrary, he approves 
of the answers Iesous has given the Sadducees, and in good faith 
asks him a sensible question, the result being that at the close of 
their mutual inquiry Iesous says to him, "You are not far from 
the kingdom of God." The compiler of Matthew invariably holds 
the Pharisees up for execration (though he probably never saw 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 655 

one in his life and had only hazy notions as to who they were), 
and he could not allow this warm commendation of a Pharisee to 
stand. He has therefore struck it out, thereby making the story 
utterly pointless : in his version of it, it has a false beginning and 
no ending. 

Ch. xxii. 41-46 

41 Now, while the Pharisees were assembled together, Iesous 
put to them a question, 42 saying : 

"What is your opinion concerning the Anointed— whose son is 
he?" 

They say to him : 

"David's [son]." 

43 He says to them : 

"Then how does David, [speaking] in the Breath, call him 'Mas- 
ter,' saying: 

44 'The Master said to my Master, 
"Sit thou at my right hand, 

Until I place thine enemies underneath thy feet" ' ? 
45 If David, then, calls him 'Master,' how is he his son?" 

46 And no one was able to give him an answer as to the doctrine, 
nor did any one presume, from that day, to put to him questions any 
more. 

COMMENTARY 

Judging by the answers made by Iesous, as here recorded in Mat- 
thew, the Pharisees and Sadducees ceased to ask him questions, not 
because of his controversial ability, but because they were weary of 
listening to inanities and of hearing their sacred scriptures mis- 
quoted from a Greek translation. 

Chapter xxiii. 1-36 

1 Then Iesous spoke to the crowds and to his disciples, 2 saying : 

"The scribes and the Pharisees are seated on the seat of 

Moses; 3 therefore practise and observe all things whatever 

they may tell you; but do not practise after their works, for 



656 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

they prate and do not practise. 4 And they tie up heavy bur- 
dens [[and grievous to be borne]], and put them on men's 
shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with their 
ringers. 5 But all their works they practise to be seen by men : 
for they make broad their prayer-fillets, and enlarge the hems 
[[of their cloaks]], 6 and love the foremost place at dinners 
and the front seats in the synagogues, 7 and the salutations 
in the market-places, and to be called by men Rabbi. 8 But be 
you not called Rabbi; for one is your teacher, [[the Anointed,]" 
and all of you are brothers. 9 And do not call any one your father 
on the earth ; for one is your Father, the celestial [one] . 10 Neither 
be you called leaders ; for one is your leader, the Anointed. 1 1 But 
the older of you shall be your servant. 12 And whoever shall exalt 
himself shall be humbled, and whoever shall humble himself shall 
be exalted. 

"[[14 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For 
you devour widows' houses, even while in pretence you pray 
at great length; for this reason you shall receive a more severe 
sentence.]] 13 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! 
For you shut the kingdom of the skies before men : for you do 
not enter in yourselves, nor do you permit those who are en- 
tering in to enter. 

15 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you 
traverse sea and dry land to make one convert; and when he has 
become [converted], you make him twofold more a son of Hinnom- 
valley than yourselves. 

16 "Woe to you, blind guides, who say, 'Whoever shall swear 
by the sanctuary, it is nothing, but whoever shall swear by the gold 
of the sanctuary, he is bound [to keep his oath].' 17 Fools and 
blind men ! For which is greater, the gold, or the sanctuary which 
has sanctified the gold? 18 And [you say], 'Whoever shall swear 
by the altar, it is nothing, but whoever shall swear by the offering 
that is upon it, he is bound [to keep his oath].' 19 [[Fools and]] 
blind men ! For which is greater, the offering, or the altar which 
sanctifies the offering? 20 Therefore he who swears by the altar 
swears by it, and by all the things that are upon it. 21 And he 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 657 

who swears by the sanctuary swears by it, and by the [God] dwell- 
ing in it. 22 And he who swears by the sky, swears by the throne 
of God, and by that [God] sitting upon it. 

23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! For you 
pay tithes of mint, and anise and cummin, and you have left 
undone the weightier [matters] of the law r , judgment, and 
mercy and faith. (But these you ought to have done, and not 
to have left those [undone].) 24 Blind guides, who filter out 
the gnat, and gulp down the camel! 

25 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you 
cleanse the outside of the cup and of the dish, but within they 
are full of rapacity and licentiousness. 26 Blind Pharisee, 
cleanse first the inside of the cup [[and of the dish]], that the 
outside [[of them]] may become clean also. 

27 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! For you 
are like stuccoed burial-vaults, which outwardly appear beau- 
tiful, but within are full of dead men's bones and utter filth. 28 
Thus also you appear virtuous to men, but inwardly you are 
full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. 

29 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! For you 
build the burial-vaults of the seers, and decorate the monu- 
ments of the virtuous, 30 and say, 'If we had lived in the days 
of our fathers, we would not have been their accomplices in 
[shedding] the blood of the seers.' 31 So that you are bearing 
witness to yourselves that you are the sons of the murderers 
of the seers. 32 Fill ye up, then, the measure of your fathers! 
33 You snakes, you brood of vipers, how shall you escape from 
the judgment of Hinnom-valley ? 34 For this reason, behold, 
I am sending to you seers, and learned men, and scribes; some 
of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will 
scourge in your synagogues, and chase from city to city; 35 
that upon you may come all the virtuous blood shed on the 
earth, from the blood of the virtuous Abel to the blood of Zach- 
ariah (son of Barachiah), whom you murdered between the 
sanctuary and the altar. 36 Amen, I say to you, All these 
things shall come upon this age. 



658 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

Here the compiler has endeavored to sum up in one discourse all 
the immoralities of the detested Pharisees; and in collecting invec- 
tives for this diatribe he has robbed other portions of the text. The 
parallel passage in Mark consists of but a single sentence, which is 
copied verbatim in Luke, with nothing added, though some of the 
denunciations are given in the periscope. But verse 14 is not found 
in the oldest manuscripts; in some of the later manuscripts it is 
placed after, and in others before, verse 13 : apparently later inter- 
polators, noticing that the compiler of Matthew had inadvertently 
omitted this caustic rebuke of the prayerful but house-devouring 
Pharisees (which is found in Mark xii. 40 and Luke xx. 47), took 
it upon themselves to correct the oversight. 

The few virile sentences in the discourse belong elsewhere in the 
text, and the bulk of it is evidently the work of an amateur writer 
with an infertile intellect and a halting pen. Even the few sentences 
that may be regarded as genuine are marred by the unskilful for- 
ger : a sightless "guide" would not be apt to strain out a gnat ; and 
the cup and dish could not be full of rapacity and licentiousness, nor 
does the outside of them become clean because the inside has been 
washed. Confused metaphors may not be inconsistent with the 
theological theory of divine inspiration; but the reference to "Zach- 
ariah" and his martyrdom can not be dismissed so lightly. The 
Zechariah who was stoned to death in the court of Yahveh's house 
was the son of Jehoiada (II Chronicles xxiv. 20, 21), while Zech- 
ariah the son of Barachiah {Zechariah i. 1) was one of the minor 
prophets. Confusing metaphors is more pardonable than mixing 
up historical characters. The form of statement, from Abel to 
Zachariah, shows clearly that the son of Jehoiada was meant, for 
Abel is the first martyr mentioned in the Pentateuch, and Zechariah 
the last, the phrase being thus intended to include all the martyrs 
therein recorded. But scriptural apologists whose imagination 
sometimes soars beyond the confines of sober judgment have sought 
to identify this Zachariah with the father of Ioannes the "baptist," 
and even with a certain Zachariah who was slain, according to 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 659 

Josephus, "in the middle of the temple"; but as this latter Zacha- 
riah was the son of Baruch, and was slain over thirty years after 
the date assigned to the crucifixion of Iesous, the "explanation" is 
interesting only as an example of the desperate but futile devices 
often employed by orthodox exegetists when hard pushed to ex- 
plain away glaring errors found in the "inspired" writings. 

Ch. xxiii. 37-39 

37 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who killest the seers and ston- 
est those who are sent to her ! How often would I have gath- 
ered thy children together, even as a hen gathers her nestlings 
under her wings — and ye would not ! 38 Behold, 'your house is 
left to you [[desolate]].' 39 For I say to you, You shall not see 
me henceforth until you say, 'Blessed is he who is coming in the 
Master's name! " 

COMMENTARY 

The word eremos, "desolate," in verse 38, is a later interpolation, 
as also in Luke xiii. 35 : without the word, the sentence would mean, 
"Your house is abandoned to you." It is not quoted from the Old 
Testament, but is supposed to be an allusion to the prophetic threats 
that Jerusalem would eventually meet with misfortune. If taken in 
a "historical" sense, the words in verse 39 would quench all hope 
that Iesous would ever revisit Jerusalem ; for the inhabitants of that 
city are not Christians, while Christianity is waning, and the Jews 
emphatically reject it. 

Chapter xxiv 

1 And Iesous went out from the temple, and was going 
away; and his disciples came to him to point out to him the 
buildings of the temple. 2 But he answered and said to them : 

"Do you not see all these things? Amen, I say to you, There 
shall not be left here a stone upon [another] stone, which shall 
not be thrown down." 

3 And as he was sitting on the mountain of the olive-trees, 
the disciples came to him privately, saying : 



66o THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

"Tell us, when shall these things be, and what shall be the 
sign of your Presence and of the company [of the perfect] of 
the aeon?" 

4 And Iesous answered and said to them: 

"Beware lest any one should mislead you. 5 For many will 
come in my name, saying, 'I am the Anointed,' and they will 
mislead many. 6 And you shall be hearing of wars and rumors 
of wars; look you, do not be terrified: for it must inevitably 
happen, but the completion is not yet. 7 For 'nation shall rise 
against nation, and kingdom against kingdom ; and there shall be 
famines [[and pestilences]] and earthquakes, according to the 
places. 8 Now, all these things are the beginnings of the 
throes-of-birth. 9 Then they shall hand you over to an ordeal, 
and shall kill you; and you shall be hated by all nations on ac- 
count of my name. 10 And then many shall be tripped up, and 
shall hand one another over, and hate one another. 11 And 
many pretended seers shall arise, and shall mislead many. 12 
And because lawlessness shall be increased, the love of the 
many shall grow cold. 13 But he who remains constant until 
the completion, he shall be saved. 14 And these good tidings 
of the kingdom shall be proclaimed in the whole inhabited 
world for a testimony to all the nations; and then the comple- 
tion shall come. 

15 "When, therefore, you shall see 'the desolating abomination' 
which was spoken of by Daniel the seer, standing in the sacred place 
(let the reader take notice), 16 then let those who are in Judaea 
rlee to the mountains ; 1 7 and let him who is on the housetop not 
come down to take the things out of his house ; 18 and let him who 
is in the field not return back to take his cloak. 19 But woe to preg- 
nant women and to women with babe at breast in those days ! 20 
And pray that your flight may not take place in winter, nor on a 
sabbath : 21 for then there shall be c a great ordeal, such as the like 
has not happened from the foundation of the world until now/ no, 
nor ever shall happen at all. 22 And unless those days had been 
cut short, not an embodied being would have been saved; but for 
the sake of the select those days shall be shortened. 23 Then 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 661 

if any one shall say to you, 'Behold, here is the Anointed !' or, 
'Here !' do not believe [him]. 24 For pretended Anointeds and 
pretended seers will arise, and 'will give great signs and wonders,' 
so as to mislead, if possible, even the select. 25 Behold, I have 
foretold [it] to you. 26 If, therefore, they shall say to you, 
'Behold, he is in the desert/ do not go forth; 'Behold, he is in 
the treasure-vaults/ do not believe [them]. 27 For as the 
lightning comes forth from the east and is visible even to the 
west, so shall be the Presence of the Son of man. 28 For wher- 
ever the carcass is, there will the eagles be gathered together. 

29 "But immediately after the ordeal of those days 'the sun shall 
be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars 
shall fall from the sky, and the poiucrs which are in the skies shall 
be shaken.' 30 And then the sign of the Son of man shall be visible 
in the sky ; and then 'all the tribes of the earth shall wail,' and they 
shall see 'the Son of man coming on the clouds of the sky' with 
power and great glory. 31 And he shall send his Divinities 
'with a great [ [sound of] ] a trumpet,' and 'they shall gather' his 
select 'from the four winds, from the highest to the lowest [re- 
gions'] of the skies.' 

32 "Now from the fig-tree understand the allegory: when 
her branch has already become tender, and puts forth leaves, 
you know that summer is near; 33 so you also, when you see 
all these things, know that [the kingdom] is near, [right] at 
the doors. 34 Amen, I say to you, This generation shall not at 
all pass away until all these things shall have happened. 35 The 
sky and the earth shall pass away, but my arcane doctrines shall 
not pass away. 36 But as regards that day and hour, no one 
knows, not even the Divinities of the skies, nor yet the Son 
(except the Father). 37 For precisely as the days of Noah 
[were], so shall be the Presence of the Son of man. 38 For as 
in [[those]] days which were before the deluge they were 
eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until 
the day wdien Noah entered into the ark, 39 and they did not 
know until the deluge came and took them all away; so shall 
be the Presence of the Son of man. 40 Then shall two [men] 



662 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

be in the field; one is taken, and one is left: 41 two [women 
shall be] grinding at the mill; one is taken, and one is left. 42 
Watch, therefore, for you do not know on what day your Mas- 
ter is coming. 43 But know this, that if the house-lord had 
known in what hour the thief is coming, he would have 
watched, and would not have let his house be broken into. 44 
For this reason also do you get ready; for at an hour you do 
not expect [him] the Son of man is coming. 45 Who, then, is 
the faithful and prudent slave, whom the master has set over 
his household, to give them food in due season? 46 Blessed 
is that slave whom his master, having come, shall find doing 
thus. 47 Amen, I say to you, He will set him over all his pos- 
sessions. 48 But if that wicked slave should say in his heart, 
'My master is delaying,' 49 and should begin to beat his fel- 
low-slaves, and should eat and drink with the drunkards, 50 
the master of that slave will come on a day in which he is not 
looking for [him], and at an hour which he does not know, 51 
and shall cut him in two, and shall assign his portion with the 
hypocrites : in that place there shall be weeping and gnashing 
of teeth. 

COMMENTARY 

The men who turned a Greek allegory of the Sun-God into a 
pseudo-historical narrative of a Jewish Messiah knew full well that 
their story had not the slightest historical foundation. They were 
shameless forgers, deliberately writing falsehoods, and were not 
themselves deceived into believing that there was any historical 
truth in the Iesous-mythos. Religious ecstatics, neurotic visionaries, 
psychically intoxicated mystics, fanatics with disordered mentality, 
and morbid and unbalanced individuals who, having strayed out- 
side the bounds of reason and sanity, imagine themselves to be 
prophets and seers, may attempt, with sincere belief and innocent 
motives, to promulgate fantastic doctrines as divine revelations, and 
to inflict new and unwholesome religions upon mankind. But the 
men who fabricated the Synoptics were, as shown by the methods 
employed in falsifying the pagan allegory, and the dull literary 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 663 

quality of the forged passages, merely sordid priests of the class 
that with low cunning and greasy sanctimony deceive and prey upon 
the ignorant and credulous masses. They were not self-deluded 
religious enthusiasts, but cold and calculating priestly charlatans. 
In their colorless literary effusions there is no genuine emotional 
warmth, no psychic frenzy, no wild plunging of an unbridled im- 
agination. Even the plea of religious insanity can not be advanced 
in their defence. They were simply priests methodically working 
up a scheme to retain their hold on the people — priests of the same 
type as the Roman augurs, who, as Cicero said, had to thrust their 
tongue in their cheeks to keep from laughing when they passed each 
other on the streets. They were quite sane, and they certainly did 
not believe that their anthropomorphized Sun-God would return at 
the end of the aeon or at any other time. The "prophecy" was in- 
tended only for the "believers," the ignorant dupes, and not for the 
priests themselves, who soberly followed their dignified occupation, 
profiting financially by playing on the hopes and fears of their fol- 
lowers. 

Chapter xxv. 1-13 

1 "Then shall the kingdom of the skies be likened to ten 
maidens, who took their torches and went forth to meet the 
bridegroom. 2 And five of them were heedless, and five were 
prudent. 3 For the heedless [maidens], when they took their 
torches, did not take oil with them; 4 but the prudent 
[maidens] took oil in cruets with their torches. 5 Now, when 
the bridegroom kept delaying, they all became drowsy and fell 
asleep. 6 But at midnight a cry arose : 

" 'Behold, the bridegroom [ [is coming] ] ! Go forth to meet 
[him]/ 

7 "Then all those maidens arose, and put their torches in 
order. 8 And the heedless [maidens] said to the prudent: 
" 'Give us [some] of your oil; for our torches are going out.' 
9 "But the prudent maidens answered and said: 
" 'No ; there may not be enough for us and for you ; better go 
to the dealers and buy [oil] for yourselves.' 



664 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

10 "And while they went away to buy, the bridegroom came ; 
and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding- 
feast ; and the door was shut. 1 1 But afterwards came also the 
other maidens, saying: 

" 'Master, open to us.' 

12 "But he answered and said: 

" 'Amen, I say to you, I do not know you.' 

13 "Watch, therefore, for you do notJknow the day nor the hour 
[ [in which the Son of man is coming.] ] 

COMMENTARY 

The charming allegory of the maidens and their torches brings 
before the mind a scene that is peculiarly Hellenic. It was custom- 
ary among the Greeks for a band of men or maidens thus to greet 
the bridegroom. The allegory has no Jewish color, and it has no 
more application to the theological fiction of the second advent than 
have the other allegories of the kingdom. In the conception of the 
originators of the cult that kingdom is a material one., to be estab- 
lished on earth when Iesous returns from the sky to confer eternal 
bliss upon all who blindly believe in priestly fables and keep up a 
steady rain of coin into the temple-treasury, and to banish all dis- 
believers into the outer darkness that resounds with the dental music 
of the damned. 

Ch. xxv. 14-30 

14 "For [it is] just as [if] a man, going to travel abroad, called 
his own slaves, and handed over to them his possessions. 15 And 
to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one ; to each 
according to his respective ability; and he went travelling abroad. 
16 And immediately he who received the five talents went into busi- 
ness with them, and gained five other talents. 17 In the same way 
he also who [received] the two gained two others. 18 But he who 
received the one went away and dug in the earth, and hid his mas- 
ter's money. 19 And after a long time the master of those slaves 
comes, and adjusts accounts with them. 20 And he who received 
the fLvt talents came and brought him the other five talents, saying : 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 665 

" 'Master, you handed over to me five talents. Behold, I have 
gained five other talents.' 

21 "His master said to him : 

" 'Well done ! Good and faithful slave, you have been faithful 
over a few things ; I shall set you over many things. Enter into the 
joy of your master.' 

22 "And he who [received] the two talents came and said: 

' 'Master, you handed over to me two talents. Behold, I have 
gained two other talents.' 

23 "His master said to him : 

" 'Well done! Good and faithful slave, you have been faithful 
over a few things ; I shall set you over many things. Enter into the 
joy of your master.' 

24 "And he who had received the one talent came to him and 
said : 

" 'Master, I knew you, that you are a harsh man, reaping where 
you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter ; 25 and 
being afraid, I went away and hid your talent in the earth. Behold, 
you retain your own.' 

26 "But his master answered and said to him : 
'You worthless and indolent slave, you knew that I reap where 
I did not sow, and gather where I did not scatter ; 27 therefore you 
ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and when I 
came I should have recovered my own with usury. 28 Therefore 
take the talent away from him, and give it to him who has the ten 
talents. (29 For to every one who has shall be given, and he 
shall be in abundance ; but from him who has not shall be taken 
away even that which he has.) 30 And throw the unprofitable 
slave into the outer darkness; in that place there shall be weep- 
ing and gnashing of teeth.' • 

COMMENTARY 

The tale of the talents is not a true allegory, but only a shabby 
imitation of an allegory in which the Son of man is likened to a 
brutal slave-owner who is a thief and usurer. It is based upon the 
opening words of Mark xiii. 34, which it copies, even reproducing 



666 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

the lacuna, with the fidelity of the Chinaman who, using an oid pair 
of trousers for a pattern, put a patch in the seat of the new pair. 
In Mark the slaves are given "authority" and have their "work" 
laid out for them; in Matthezv this suggestion of "work" has been 
expanded into the "allegory" of the talents, each of the slaves being 
started in business with a sum of money. The Attic talent was 
worth a little over $1,000; the Jewish talent of silver equalled 
$2,000, and the talent of gold, $30,000: the forgers are invariably 
generous in their allowance of imaginary money, but it seems proba- 
ble that the author of the "allegory," not being a Jew, had in mind 
the Attic talent. In Luke the suggestion of "authority" is further 
elaborated by making the slave-master a king who rewards his 
faithful slaves by appointing them governors of cities. 

Ch. xxv. 31-46 

3 1 "But when the Son of man comes in his glory, and all the 
[[holy]] Divinities with him, then he shall sit on the throne of 
his glory; 32 and before him all the nations will be gathered, 
and he will separate them from one another, just as a shepherd 
separates the sheep from the goats; 33 and he will set the 
sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the 
King will say to those on his right hand : 

" 'Come, you who are praised by my Father, inherit the king- 
dom made ready for you from the beginning of the world : 35 
for I was hungry, and you gave me to eat; I was thirsty, and 
you gave me to drink; I was a stranger, and you entertained 
me ; 36 naked, and you clothed me ; I was sick, and you visited 
me ; I was in prison, and you came to me.' 

37 "Then the virtuous will answer him, saying: 
" 'Master, when did we see you. hungering, and fed you, or 
thirsting, and gave you drink? 38 And when did we see you a 
stranger, and entertained you, or naked, and clothed you? 39 
And when did we see you sick, or in prison, and came to you?' 
40 "And the King will answer and say to them : 
" 'Amen, I say to you, Inasmuch as you did it to one of these 
my brothers, the very little ones, you did it to me.' 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 667 

41 "Then he will say also to those on the left hand: 
" 'Depart from me, ye accursed, into the aeonian fire which 
has been made ready for the Accuser and his Divinities : 42 
for I was hungry, and you did not give me to eat ; I was thirsty, 
and you did not give me to drink; 43 I was a stranger, and 
you did not entertain me; naked, and you did not clothe me; 
sick, and in prison, and you did not visit me/ 

44 "Then they also will answer him, saying : 

" 'Master, when did we see you hungering, or thirsting, or a 
stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not serve 
you?* 

45 "Then he will answer them, saying: 

" 'Amen, I say to you, Inasmuch as you did not do it to one 
of these very little ones, you did not do it to me.' 

46 "And these shall go away into aeonian chastisement; but 
the virtuous [shall enter] into aeonian life." 

COMMENTARY 

This version of the last judgment has its parallel in the Apoca- 
lypse, but is not in Mark or Luke. It is not very forcibh r written, 
and it may be only a later addition to the text; but the allegory 
would be incomplete without it, so that it is genuine in substance. 

Chapter xxvi. 1-19 

1 And it befell that when Iesous had finished [teaching] all these 
arcane doctrines, he said to his disciples : 

2 "You know that after two days [the feast of] the passover 
takes place, and the Son of man is handed over to be crucified." 

3 Then the chief-priests, [[and the scribes,]] and the elders of 
the people were gathered together at the court of the high-priest, 
who was called Caiaphas ; 4 and they consulted together, that they 
might lay hold of Iesous by guile, and kill him. 5 But they said: 

"Not during the feast, lest an uproar take place among the com- 
mon people." 

6 Now, when Iesous was in Bethany, in the house of Simon 



668 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

the leper, 7 there came to him a woman having an alabaster 
flask of very valuable oil, and she poured it on his head as he 
reclined [at table]. 8 But the disciples, when they saw it, be- 
came indignant, saying: 

"Wherefore this waste? 9 For this [ [oil] ] could have been sold 
for much, and [the proceeds] given to the poor." 

10 But Iesous, observing this, said to them : 

"Why do you cause the woman pain? For she has performed a 
gracious deed on me. 1 1 For you have the poor with you always ; 
but me you do not have always. 12 For this [woman], in pouring 
the oil on my body, did it with a view to my burial. 1 3 Amen, I say 
to you, Wherever, in the whole world, these good tidings shall be 
proclaimed, that also which this woman has done shall be spoken of 
as a memorial of her." 

14 Then one of the twelve, who is called Ioudas Iskariotes, went 
to the chief-priests, 15 and said: 

"What are you willing to give me, and I shall hand him over to 
you?" 

'And they paid' him 'thirty pieces of silver/ 16 And thenceforth 
he kept looking for an opportunity, that he might hand him over. 

17 Now, on the first [day] of unleavened bread the disciples 
came to Iesous, saying: 

"Where do you wish us to make ready for you to eat the 
passover?" 

18 And he said: 

"Go into the city to So-and-so, and say to him, The teacher 
says, 'My season is near ; I celebrate the passover at your house 
with my disciples.' " 

19 And the disciples did as Iesous directed them; and they 
made ready the passover. 

COMMENTARY 

Among the ancient Jews thirty shekels was the price of a slave ; 
thus Josephus (Antiquities iv. 8. 37) says that if an ox should kill 
a slave, its owner should pay the master of the slave thirty shekels. 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 669 

Here the forger has Ioudas receive that sum for betraying his 
Master ! 

The Water-bearer and the "upper room" in his house have been 
cut out of the text of Matthew, because they reveal too clearly the 
zodiacal meaning. Aquarius is here a nondescript individual, who 
is alluded to as "So-and-so," Selva, a word applied to one whose 
name the speaker can not recall or does not wish to mention : it may 
be translated, on the authority of Liddell and Scott's Lexicon, as 
"Thingumbob." The compiler of Matthew evidently found it con- 
venient to forget the name Hydrochoos, the Water-pourer, as well 
as the names of the two disciples who were sent to him, and other 
details. The compiler of Luke also betrays a faulty memory when 
he says that the two disciples w T ere Petros and Ioannes ; for he should 
have said Andreas, since Ioannes belongs to another quarter of the 
zodiac. 

Ch. xxvi. 20-35 

20 Now, when evening arrived, he was reclining [at table] 
with the twelve [[disciples]] ; 21 and as they were eating, he 
said: 

"Amen, I say to you, One among you will hand me over. ,, 

22 And they were exceedingly grieved, and began to say to 
him every one: 

"It is not I, I hope, Master?" 

23 But he answered and said : 

"He who dipped his hand with me in the bowl, he shall hand 
me over. 24 The Son of man goes [to his death], as it is written 
concerning him ; but woe to the man through whom the Son of 
man is handed over! It were good for him if that man had not 
been born." 

25 And Ioudas, who was handing him over, said: 
"It is not I, I hope, Rabbi?" 

He says to him : 
"You have said [it]." 

26 And as they were eating, Iesous took a loaf of bread, and 



670 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

having blessed it, he broke it in pieces, and giving [the por- 
tions] to the disciples, he said: 

"Take, eat ; this is my body." 

2j And he took [ [the] ] cup, and when he had given thanks, 
he gave it to them, saying: 

"Drink from it, all of you; 28 for this is my blood 'of the 
[[new]] covenant,' which is poured out for many for remission of 
sins. 29 But I say to you, I shall not drink henceforth of this 
produce of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with 
you in the kingdom of my Father." 

30 And when they had chanted an ode, they went out to the 
mountain of the olive-trees. 

31 Then Iesous says to them: 

"All of you will be caused to fall away in regard to me dur- 
ing this night: for it is written: 'I will smite the shepherd, and 
the sheep shall be scattered abroad/ 32 But after I am raised up, 
I shall precede you into Galilee." 

33 But Petros answered and said to him: 

"If all [the others] shall be caused to fall away in regard to 
you, I shall never be caused to fall away." 

34 Iesous said to him: 

"Amen, I say to you, During this night, before the cock 
crows, you will utterly deny me thrice." 

35 Petros says to him: 

"Even if it were inevitable for me to die with you, I shall in 
no wise deny you." 

Likewise also said all the disciples. 

COMMENTARY 

The Old Testament quotations only serve the general purpose of 
vaguely connecting the new scriptures with the old ; and they almost 
invariably betray dishonesty of purpose and maladroitness in its 
execution. The passage misquoted from Zechariah (xiii. 7) reads 
differently, " 'Awake, sword, against my shepherd' .... says 
Yahveh of hosts ; 'smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scat- 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 671 

tered.' ' If this is applied to Iesous, it must mean that Yahveh 
smote him with the sword ; and Ioudas can be connected with the 
metaphor only by considering him to be the weapon wielded by the 
warlike Yahveh,. whom the forgers identify with the Heavenly Fa- 
ther of Iesous. Yet some of the exploits of the Jewish tribal God, 
as recounted in the Old Testament, would have disgraced a hairy 
and prognathous savage. According to this scheme of salvation, 
Iesous and Ioudas were alike but instruments in the hands of Deity. 
Even as Prometheus was chained to the rock by "the decree of Zeus, 
but the hand of Hephaistos," so Ioudas also was but an agent in 
carrying out the will of God that Iesous should be crucified. 

Ch. xxvi. 36-56 

36 Then Iesous comes with them to an enclosure called 
Gethsemane, and he says to his disciples: 

"Sit here, while I go over there and pray." 

37 And he took with him Petros and the two sons of Zebe- 
daios, and began to be grieved and depressed. 38 Then he 
says to them: 

' 'My soul is deeply grieved,' even to death. Remain here and 
watch with me." 

39 And having gone forward a little, he fell on his face, pray- 
ing, and saying: 

"My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from me; 
however, not as I will, but as thou wiliest." 

40 And he comes to his disciples, and finds them sleeping, 
and says to Petros : 

"So then, were you not able to watch with me one hour? 
41 Watch, and pray that you may not enter into temptation. 
The spirit indeed is eager, but the flesh is weak." 

42 Again he went away a second time, and prayed, [[say- 
ing]]: 

"My Father, if this [[cup]] can not pass away [[from me]], 
except I drink it, thy will be accomplished." 

43 And he came again and found them sleeping, for their 



672 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

eyes were weighted down. 44 And leaving them again, he 
went away, and prayed a third time, saying the same speech. 
45 Then he comes to the disciples, and says to them: 

"Are you sleeping already and taking your rest? Behold, 
the hour has drawn near, and the Son of man is delivered over 
into the hands of sinners ! 46 Arise ; let us be going. Behold, 
he who is handing me over has drawn near." 

47 And while he was yet speaking, behold, came Ioudas, one 
of the twelve, and with him a large crowd, with swords and 
clubs, from the chief-priests and elders of the people. 48 Now, 
he who hands him over had given them a sign, saying: 

"Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is he; seize him." 

49 And immediately he came to Iesous, and said, "Welcome, 
Rabbi!" and kissed him again and again. 50 And Iesous said 
to him: 

"Comrade, [do] that for which you are come." 

Then they approached, and laid their hands on Iesous, and 
seized him. 51 And behold, one of those with Iesous, stretch- 
ing out his hand, drew his sword, and struck the high-priest's 
slave, and took off his ear. 52 Then Iesous says to him : 

"Restore your sword to its place : for all who take the sword shall 
perish by the sword. 53 Or do you think that I can not call my 
Father to help, and he shall even now place at my disposal more 
than twelve legions of Divinities? 54 How, then, should the scrip- 
tures be fulfilled that it must inevitably befall thus?" 

55 In that hour Iesous said to the crowds: 

"Have you come out, as against a bandit, with swords and 
clubs to apprehend me? Daily I sat [[with you]] teaching in 
the temple, and you did not seize me. 56 But all this has come 
about, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled." 

Then all the disciples left him, and fled. 

COMMENTARY 

The loving kisses of Ioudas and the kindly words addressed to 
him by Iesous can hardly be reconciled with the theory that Ioudas 
was a venal traitor whose heart had become a lair of Satan. A skil- 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 673 

ful forger could easily have so edited the story as to give it unity 
of plan and congruity of details; but the compilers and redactors 
of the Gospels were, as their work indisputably shows, men of 
meagre attainments and of no literary training. Also it is apparent 
that for many years the priests enjoyed the privilege of weaving 
their fancies into the text ; and in consequence of their injudicious 
contributions it resembles Joseph's coat or a rustic crazy-quilt. 
Thus, after Iesous has vainly besought the unrelenting Father to 
let the cup pass away from him, he yet asserts that if he were to 
ask the Father for help, more than twelve legions of heavenly war- 
riors would be sent to rescue him. He does not ask for them, for 
the reason that the scriptures must be fulfilled by his death — a fact 
that had not occurred to him when he was praying for the removal 
of the cup. The reference to the scriptures is made only in general 
terms, the forgers having failed to find any passage in them that 
could be distorted into a suitable prophecy. In Mark ix. 12, 13 
there are similar vague allusions to scriptural "prophecies" concern- 
ing the crucifixion of Iesous and the beheading of Ioannes. 

Ch. xxvi. 57-75 

57 And the [men] who had seized Iesous led him away to 
Caiaphas, the high-priest, where the scribes and the elders were 
gathered together. 58 And Petros followed at a distance, to 
the high-priest's court, and he entered within, and sat down 
with the servants, to see the end. 59 And the chief-priests, 
[[and the elders]], and the whole council were seeking false 
evidence against Iesous, that they might put him to death, 60 
and they did not find [any], though many false witnesses came 
forward. But at last two false witnesses came forward, 61 
and said: 

"This [man] said, 'I am able to destroy the sanctuary of 
God, and to build it in three days/ " 

62 And the high-priest stood up and said to him: 

"Do you answer nothing? What [is it] that these [wit- 
nesses] are testifying against you?" 



674 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

63 But Iesous was silent. And the high-priest said to him: 
"I adjure you by the living God, that you tell us whether 

you are the Anointed, the Son of God." 

64 Iesous says to him : 

"You have said it. However, I say to you, Henceforth f you 
shall see the Son of man sitting at the right hand of Power, and 
coming on the clouds of the sky/ " 

65 Then the high-priest tore his clothes, saying: 

"He has spoken most impiously! What further need have 
we of witnesses? Behold, now you have heard [ [his] ] impious 
assertions, 66 what is your opinion?" 

And they answered and said: 

"He is liable to the death-sentence." 

6y Then they spat in his face, and boxed his ears ; and some 
ctruck him [with their rods], 68 saying: 

"Divine for us, Anointed: who is he who struck you?" 

69 Now, Petros was sitting outside in the court ; and a slave- 
girl came to him, saying: 

"You also were with Iesous the Galilsean." 

70 But he denied before all, saying: 
"I do not know what you are saying." 

71 And when he had gone out into the porch, another [girl] 
saw him, and says to the [bystanders] there: 

"This [man] was with Iesous the Nazorsean." 

72 And again he denied with an oath : 
"I do not know the man." 

73 And after a little [while] the bystanders came and said to 
Petros : 

"Really you are [one] of them; for even your speech makes 
you noticeable." 

74 Then he began to assert with imprecations and oaths: 
"I do not know the man." 

And immediately the cock crowed. 75 And Petros remem- 
bered the saying which Iesous had said to him, "Before the 
cock crows, you will deny me thrice." And he went outside, 
and wept bitterly. 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 675 

COMMENTARY 

Petros denying his Master is a pitiful figure, hardly less ignoble 
than Ioudas is in the role of traitor assigned him by the forgers. 
xAccording to Mark the prediction was that the cock would crow 
twice before the third denial, and accordingly the cock does crow 
a second time ; but here and in Luke the prediction and its fulfilment 
allow chanticleer to crow but once — after the third denial. The 
former version is probably the correct one, though it is less plausible 
in a literal sense, inasmuch as the first crow migdit well have stirred 
the memory of the disciple, even though the prediction called for a 
second crowing. Only one servant-girl accuses Petros, according 
to Mark; but according to Matthew and Luke, the girl who speaks 
to him the second time is "another" one. 

In verse 57 "where" (ottov) refers to Caiaphas, as if he were a 
place and not a person ! 

Chapter xxvii. i-io 

1 Now, when morning arrived, all the chief-priests and the 
elders of the people took counsel against Iesous, that they 
might put him to death; 2 and they bound him, and led him 
away, and handed him over to [[Pontius]] Pilate, the gov- 
ernor. 

3 Then Ioudas, who had handed him over, having seen that he 
was condemned, repented himself and returned the thirty pieces of 
silver to the chief-priests and elders, 4 saying : 

"I have sinned by handing over innocent blood." 

But they said : 

"What is that to us? Look to it yourself." 

5 And he hurled the pieces of silver into the sanctuary, and with- 
drew, and went away and hanged himself. 6 And the chief -priests 
took the pieces of silver, and said : 

"It is not lawful to put them into the repository of votive offer- 
ings, since it is the price of blood." 

7 And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter's field, 
for a burial-place for strangers. 8 Wherefore that field has been 



676 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

called "Field of Blood" to this day. 9 Then was fulfilled that 
which was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet, saying: 

"And I [ [£/t<?v]] took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him 
who had been priced, whom they priced [who are] of the sons of 
Israel; 10 and I [[they]] gave them for the potter's field, accord- 
ing as the Master directed me. }} 

COMMENTARY 

This story has been clumsily wedged in between verses 2 and 11, 
which show by their closely connected wording that they originally 
had no other sentences between them. It is likewise out of place in 
the narrative ; for Iesous had not been condemned or even tried : the 
forger has mistaken the preliminary examination of Iesous by the 
priests for a trial, whereas the trial and condemnation of Iesous 
took place later before the civil magistrate. The words credited in 
the text to Jeremiah are taken from Zechariah xi. 12, 13, and only 
by fantastic literary juggling could they be contorted into anything 
remotely resembling a "prophecy." Zechariah speaks of himself as 
a shepherd, who has fed the flock (the people), by command of 
Yahveh, and goes on to say: "And I said to them (the people), Tf 
ye think good, give me my hire; and if not, forbear/ So they 
weighed out for my hire thirty [pieces] of silver. And Yahveh said 
unto me, 'Cast it unto the potter, the goodly price that I was prized 
at by them.' And I took the thirty [pieces] of silver, and cast them 
unto the potter, in the house of Yahveh." This is the "prophecy" 
which was so wonderfully fulfilled when Ioudas, having accepted 
thirty pieces of silver for betraying Iesous, repented, returned the 
money, and hanged himself, whereupon the priests bought a "pot- 
ter's field" with the silver! This palpable forgery has no parallel 
in the other Synoptics; but in the amusing romance called The Acts 
(i. 18, 19) a version of it is given in which Ioudas is saved the 
trouble of hanging himself by having him break in two at the waist 
with a crash. As no mention is made of his having swallowed an 
explosive, his mysterious death must be attributed to a miracle. 
Even Ananias and Sapphira did not give up the ghost so mysteri- 
ously. But the author of The Acts, whose literary inventions would 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 677 

have made the ghost of Ananias blush, was probably guiltless of 
this fairy story; for the way in w r hich it is squeezed into the text, 
where even parentheses fail to justify its intrusion, shows that it 
is an interpolation. It reads as follows, including the indispensable 
parentheses: "(Now, this man procured for himself a field with 
the wages of his wrong-doing, and having fallen headlong, with a 
crash he broken open in the middle, and all his internal organs 
gushed out. And it became known to all those dwelling at Jerusa- 
lem, so that in their language that field was called Akeldama [or 
Akeldamach, or Hakeldama, or Hakeldamach, a nondescript w r ord, 
supposed to be Chaldaic], that is, 'Field of Blood,')" Here Ioudas 
did not repent, did not return the money, did not commit suicide, 
and, w r orst of all, did not bring about the fulfilment of the "proph- 
ecy" of "Jeremiah" so elaborately misquoted from the writings of 
Zechariah. 

Ch. xxvii. 11-26 

1 1 And Iesous stood before the governor ; and the governor 
interrogated him, saying: 

"You are the king of the Jews?" 
And Iesous said to him : 
"You say [it] ?" 

12 And when he was accused by the chief -priests and elders, 
he answered nothing. 13 Then Pilate says to him: 

"Do you not hear how many things they are testifying 
against you?" 

14 And he did not answer him with reference to even one 
word ; so that the governor wondered very much. 1 5 Now, at 
a festival the governor was accustomed to release to the crowd 
one prisoner, [any one] whom they wished. 16 And they had 
there a notorious prisoner, called [[Iesous]] Barabbas. 17 
Therefore, when they were gathered together, Pilate said to 
them: 

"Whom do you wish that I release to you — [[Iesous]] Bar- 
abbas, or [Iesous] the so-called 'Anointed'?" 

18 For he knew that [the chief -priests] had handed him 



678 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

over through envy. 19 And while he was sitting on the tri- 
bunal his wife sent [a messenger] to him, saying: 

"[Let the accusation be] nothing to you and to that just man; 
for I have suffered many things to-day in a dream because of him." 

20 But the chief-priests and the elders persuaded the crowds 
that they should demand Barabbas, and that they should de- 
stroy Iesous. 21 But the governor answered and said to 
them: 

"Which of the two do you wish that I release to you?" 

And they said : 

"Barabbas." 

22 Pilate says to them: 

"What, then, shall I do to Iesous, the so-called 'Anointed'?" 
They all say [[to him]] : 
"Let him be crucified!" 

23 But [[the governor]] said: 
"Why, what crime has he committed?" 
But they cried out furiously, saying : 
"Let him be crucified!" 

24 And Pilate, seeing that it was of no avail, but rather that a 
tumult was arising, took water and washed his hands before the 
crowd, saying: 

"I am innocent of the blood of this just man. Look to it your- 
selves." 

25 And all the people answered and said : 
"His blood [be] on us and on our children !" 

26 Then he released to them Barabbas, but he handed over 
Iesous, when he had scourged him, to be crucified. 

COMMENTARY 

Pilate seems to have had but little confidence in his wife's ability 
as a dream-seeress. The dream was an attempted interference with 
the divine will; for if Pilate had regarded the warning, and set 
Iesous free, the plan of salvation would have been thwarted, and 
the "prophecies" would have been unfulfilled. But Pilate waves aside 
the warning ; and having condemned to death a man whom he ac- 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 679 

knowledges to be innocent, he seeks to exculpate himself by a lus- 
tration and a lie. As an unjust judge, he was guilty of judicial 
murder; and by washing his hands and denying his responsibility he 
could not purify himself or ease his conscience. The rather unusual 
phrase, "Look to it," is found also in verse 4, and this indicates that 
the story of Pilate washing his hands was written by the same for- 
ger (a romancer with a weakness for melodramatic situations) who 
inserted the fiction about Ioudas hanging himself. 

Ch. xxvii. 27-56 

27 Then the governor's soldiers took Iesous to the judg- 
ment-hall, and gathered together against him the whole band. 

28 And they stripped him, and put round him a scarlet robe. 
29 And having plaited a crown of thorns, they put it on his 
head, and a reed in his right hand ; and bending the knee before 
him, they played this childish game on him, saying: 

"Hail, King of the Jews !" 

30 And they spat on him, and struck him on his head. 31 
And when they had played this childish game on him, they dis- 
robed him of the robe, and clothed him in his own garments, 
and led him away to crucify him. 

32 And as they are going forth, they found a Cyrensean, 
Simon by name ; they pressed him into service, that he might 
bear his cross. 

33 And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that 
is to say, "Place of a Skull," 34 they gave him wine to drink 
mixed with myrrh, and when he had tasted it he would not 
drink. 35 And when they had crucified him, "they sorted out 
and distributed" his "garments among themselves, throwing dice/' 
[ [that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, "They 
sorted out and distributed my garments among themselves, and 
upon my apparel they threw dice"]]. 36 And sitting down, they 
kept guard over him there. 37 And above his head they put 
his crime written: "This is Iesous, the King of the Jews." 38 
Then with him are crucified two bandits, one [[named Zoa- 
tham]] at the right hand, and one [[named Camma]] at the 



680 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

left. 39 And the passers-by kept speaking to him abusively, 

' 'shaking their heads/' 40 and saying: 

"Destroyer of the sanctuary and builder of it in three days, 
save yourself : if you are the Son of God, come down from the 
cross." 

41 In like manner also the chief-priests, playing a children's 
game, with the scribes and elders, said: 

42 "He saved others; he can not save himself. [[If]] he is 
the King of Israel, let him come down now from the cross, 
and we will believe in him. 43 'He relied on God: let [God] 
rescue him now, if he is willing [to rescue] him' ; for he said, 'I am 
the Son of God.' " 

44 And the bandits who were crucified with him cast upon 
him the same reproach. 

45 Now, when the sixth hour came, darkness settled over 
all the earth until the ninth hour ; 46 and about the ninth hour 
Iesous exclaimed in a loud voice, saying : 

" c Eli, Eli, lama sabachthanif }> that is, "My God, my God, why 
hast thou deserted me?" 

47 And some of the bystanders there said : 
"He is calling for Elijah." 

48 And immediately one of them ran, and took a sponge, and 
saturated it with sour wine, and put it on a reed, and gave him to 
drink. 49 But the rest said : 

"Let [him] be : let us see if Elijah is coming to save him." 
[[And another took a spear, and pierced his side; and water 
and blood came out.]] 50 And Iesous again cried out with a 
loud voice, and breathed his last. 51 And behold, the veil of 
the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom; and the 
earth quaked, and the rocks were split : 52 and the monuments 
were opened, and many bodies of the slumbering saints were 
resurrected, 53 and coming forth out of the monuments after 
his resurrection they entered into the sacred city and showed 
themselves to many. 

54 Now, the centurion, and the [soldiers] with him, keeping 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 681 

guard over Iesous, when they saw the earthquake and the happen- 
ings, were exceedingly terrified, saying : 

"He really was God's Son." 

55 And many women were there, looking on from afar, who 
had followed Iesous from Galilee, serving him, 56 among 
whom were Mariam the temple-woman, and Mariam the 
mother of Iakobos and loses, and the mother of the sons of 
Zebedaios. 

COMMENTARY 

Because David poetically says {Psalms lxix. 21), "They gave 
me gall for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to 
drink," Iesous is literally offered drugged wine ; and again because 
David says {Psalms xxii. 18), "They part my garments among 
them, and upon my vesture do they cast lots," the clothing of Iesous 
is distributed among the soldiers by lot. Even the last utterance 
of Iesous, his cry of despair, is but a quotation from the Psalms of 
David. In the original conception of the forgers Iesous was a re- 
incarnation of King David, who had returned to reign over the 
Jews, but was rejected by them and put to death at the instigation 
of the priests ; but when thus repudiated and slain by the "chosen 
people" he develops into a world-savior. It was a difficult problem 
to reconcile his universal mission with the narrowness of the Jewish 
scriptures; and neither the forgers nor the many generations of 
theologians who have succeeded them have ever given a satisfac- 
tory solution of it, despite their theory of an old dispensation and a 
new one. With the development of the dogmas of eternal damna- 
tion and the vicarious atonement, the belief in reincarnation faded 
out, and passages which had been inserted in the Gospels to show 
that Iesous was David reincarnated came to be regarded as being 
allusions to Messianic prophecies. 

The "monuments" {fivrj ju-eta) which opened were, of course, 
"tombs" of some sort; but the use of the Greek word in that sense 
is very peculiar, if not erroneous. The preposterous statement is 
made that at the death of Iesous the corpses of many saints were 
restored to life — presumably with all their decomposed tissues re- 



682 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

placed before they emerged from the tombs, after his resurrection, 
as otherwise their appearance upon the streets would have been too 
startling even in an age of miracles. The forger, however, has 
endeavored to be reasonable; for he allows three days — from the 
death to the resurrection of Iesous— for the awakened saints to 
make themselves presentable before emerging from the tombs so 
miraculously opened by the earthquake. 

Ch. xxvii. 57-61 

57 And when evening arrived, there came a rich man from 
Arimathaea, named Ioseph, who also had been a disciple to 
Iesous ; 58 he went to Pilate and asked for the body of Iesous. 
Then Pilate commanded [[the body]] to be delivered over. 
59 And Ioseph took the body, and wrapped it in a clean linen 
cloth, 60 and laid it in his own new monument, which he had 
hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a great stone against the 
door of the monument, and went away. 61 And Mariam the 
temple-woman was there, and the other Mariam, sitting op- 
posite the burial-vault. 

COMMENTARY 

Here Ioseph is said to have been a "disciple" of Iesous, whereas 
in Mark and Luke that fact is not mentioned, though it is stated 
that he was waiting for the kingdom of God. As he was a "rich 
man," he would have the same difficulty in entering that kingdom 
that a camel would have in passing through the eye of a needle. 
However, he is the only rich man who is mentioned favorably in 
the entire narrative — except Abraham, Solomon and other wealthy 
worthies, long dead, who belonged to the old dispensation. 

Ch. xxvii. 62-66 

62 Now, on the morrow, which is [the day] after the Prepara- 
tion, the chief-priests and the Pharisees were gathered together to 
Pilate, 63 saying: 

"Master, we have called to mind that that impostor said while he 
was yet living, 'After three days I shall rise [from the dead]/ 64 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 683 

Therefore command the burial-vault to be made secure until the 
third day, lest ever his disciples come [ [by night] ] and steal him 
away, and say to the people, 'He is risen from the dead' ; and the 
last imposture will be worse than the first." 

65 And Pilate said to them : 

"You have a guard [of soldiers]. Go and make it secure, as you 
know." 

66 And they went and made the burial-vault secure, stamping the 
stone with a seal, [further securing it] with the guard [of soldiers]. 

Chapter xxv-iii. 1— 15 

I Now, late on the sabbath, as the dawn was whitening to- 
ward the first [day] of the week, came Mariam the temple- 
woman and the other Mariam to look at the burial-vault. 2 
And behold, a great earthquake took place; for a Divinity of 
the Master came down out of the sky, and approached and 
rolled away the stone, and was sitting upon it. 3 His outward 
semblance was as lightning, and his raiment white as snow; 
4 and for fear of him the [soldiers] keeping guard trembled 
and became as corpses. 5 And the Divinity answered and said 
to the women: 

"Fear not ye : for I know that ye seek Iesous, who hath been 
crucified. 6 He is not here ; for he is risen, just as he said. 
Come, see the place where the Master was lying. 7 And go 
quickly and say to his disciples, 'He is risen from the dead; and 
behold, he is going before you into Galilee ; there ye shall see 
him.' Behold, I have told you!" 

8 And they went out quickly from the monument with fear and 
great joy, and ran and reported it to his disciples. 9 [[But as they 
were going, to report it to his disciples,]] and behold, Iesous met 
them, saying, "Welcome all !" And they came to him, and took hold 
of his feet and worshipped him. 10 Then Iesous says to them: 

"Fear not. Go and report it to my brothers, that they may go 
into Galilee, and there they shall see me." 

I I Now, as they were going, behold, some of the guard [of sol- 
diers] came into the city, and reported to the chief -priests all the 



684 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

happenings. 12 And when they had assembled with the elders, 
and had taken counsel, they gave much money to the soldiers, 13 
saying : 

"Say, 'His disciples came by night, and stole him away while we 
were asleep.' 14 And if this is heard by the governor, we will ap- 
pease him, and get you out of trouble." 

1 5 And they took the money, and did as they had been instructed ; 
and this saying was spread abroad among the Jews until this day. 

COMMENTARY 

The Divinity whose visible form gleams as with dazzling flashes 
of lightning is Iesous resurrected, not in the body of clay, but in the 
resplendent immortal vesture of the perfected Man who has re- 
gained his divine Kingship. Having rolled away the stone of illu- 
sion, he emerges from the tomb of material consciousness and greets 
the Mighty Mother and the lowlier Sister, the sin-tarnished but 
repentant Soul of the World. With this solemn and glorious mani- 
festation of the newly Anointed King the marvellous drama ends. 
But in the falsified text this scene of beauty ineffable, of magnifi- 
cence supernal, is marred by the puerile and ugly fabrications of the 
priestly forgers. The disciples of Iesous, who are but the personi- 
fied forces and faculties of the Self eternal, are merged in the glory 
of their risen Master; but the historico-theological imposture de- 
manded that they should continue their earthly career as propa- 
gandists of the new cult formulated by the forgers. Here in Mat- 
thew some priestly scribbler, having no sense of the fitness of things, 
has placed in the text a foolish story, wretchedly worded, to the 
effect that the priests took precautions against a pretended resurrec- 
tion, and then bribed the soldiers to deny the actual resurrection, 
although those soldiers are said to have "become as corpses" at the 
sight of the God who appeared at the tomb. Now, there are priests 
of a certain class— adequately represented by the forger of this story 
of incredible baseness— who have reached the lowest level of im- 
morality to which the human soul can sink; but the rudest Roman 
or Jewish soldier would have turned with loathing from them and 
their bribe in a case like this. 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO MATTHEW 685 

Ch. xxviii. 16-20 

16 But the eleven disciples went into Galilee, to the mountain 
where Iesous had appointed them. 17 And when they saw him, 
they worshipped him; but some doubted. 18 And Iesous came to 
them and spoke to them, saying: 

"All authority has been given me in the sky and on earth. 19 
Go, therefore,' and convert all nations into disciples, lustrating them 
into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the sacred Air; 
20 teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have enjoined 
you. And behold, I am with you all the days, until the consumma- 
tion of the aeon." 

COMMENTARY 

In the three accounts of the resurrection there is an irreconcilable 
conflict of testimony. When the women come to the tomb they find, 
according to Mark, that the stone has been rolled away, and on 
entering the tomb they see there a young man ; as they approach the 
tomb, according to Matthezv, there is an earthquake, and they see a 
Divinity descend from the sky, roll away the stone, and seat himself 
on it ; as they, and other women with them, come to the tomb, ac- 
cording to Luke, they discover that the stone has been rolled away, 
but there is no one in sight, and on entering the tomb they find it 
empty, even the corpse having disappeared, and then two men ap- 
pear to them. The "young man" of Mark and the "two men" of 
Luke are evidently Divinities. The wholly spurious endings of the 
Synoptics are even more wildly discordant. The forgery appended 
to Luke is a long and prosy effusion, in the same style as, and evi- 
dently intended to lead up to, The Acts of the Apostles — a work 
that is entirely fraudulent, whether penned by the compiler of Luke 
or by some other priestly Munchausen. 



[[THE GOOD TIDINGS]] ACCORDING 
TO LUKE 

Chapter i. 1-4 

1 Since, indeed, many have attempted to compose a narrative 
concerning the events which have been fully established among us, 
2 even as the original .eye-witnesses and those coming to be [their] 
assistants [in the promulgation] of the doctrine have handed them 
down to us, 3 I determined that I also, who have traced all [these 
traditions] accurately from their source, should write [them] down 
consecutively for you, most illustrious Theophilos, 4 so that you 
might renew with certainty your knowledge of the doctrines in 
which you have been orally instructed. 

COMMENTARY 

The author of this obscurely worded preface indirectly admits 
that he had never met any of the disciples of Iesous or even their 
direct successors. He claims only to have arranged in proper 
sequence certain reports which in his day had become confused tra- 
ditions ; and this compilation was made by him because he was dis- 
satisfied with the attempts of others to frame a coherent narrative 
of these traditions. He was not inventing the "history," but was 
only rewriting it; and evidently at the date when he wrote all the 
contemporaries of Iesous were supposed to have joined the silent 
majority. Theophilos, however noble and distinguished he may 
have been in his own day — if he ever had any existence outside the 
imagination of Loukas or Lucanus, or whatever may have been his 
name, who compiled this Gospel — is now known to fame only in 
this preface and in the corresponding introduction to Acts, in which 
he is not termed illustrious. As he had been "catechetically in- 
structed," it is to be inferred that he was a catechumen ; and the cate- 

686 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 687 

chumenical system was not instituted till some time in the second 
century. 

The compiler of Luke, who was also very probably the author of 
Acts, understood full well that he was converting myths into his- 
tory, and writing fiction which was to be imposed upon the credu- 
lous as truth. His words have no ring of sincerity ; and though he 
professes to have written a consecutive narrative, he has in fact only 
followed the text of Mark, making no real improvements in the ar- 
rangement of the incidents in the narrative; and though he has 
added much new matter to it, the greater part of his contributions 
are worthless forgeries. Save two parables, that of the Prodigal 
Son and that of the Lost Piece of Silver, there is hardly anything 
of value that is peculiar to Luke; and, on the other hand, Matthew 
contains allegories that are not given in the other Gospels. 

Ch. 1. 5-25 

5 In the days of Herod, ruler of Judaea, there lived a certain 
priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abijah; and his wife was 
of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. 6 And 
they were both of upright conduct before God, walking blameless 
in all the Master's commandments and ordinances. 7 And they 
had no child, inasmuch as Elisabeth was barren, and they both were 
far gone in their days. 

8 Now it came to pass, while he was performing his sacerdotal 
services in the order of his course, 9 according to the rite of the 
sacerdotal service, it was allotted him to enter the Master's sanc- 
tuary and burn incense. 10 And at the hour of incense all the mul- 
titude of the people were praying outside. 11 And to him there 
appeared a Divinity of the Master, standing on the right-hand side 
of the altar of incense. 12 And on seeing him Zacharias was agi- 
tated, and fear fell upon him. 13 But the Divinity said to him : 

''Fear not, Zacharias ; for your entreaty has been heard, and your 
wife Elisabeth shall give birth to a son for you, and you shall call 
his name Ioannes. 14 And he shall be to you a cause of joy and 
exultation ; and many shall rejoice at his birth. 15 For he shall be 
mighty before the Master; and 'he shall not at all drink wine and 



688 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

intoxicating liquor/ but even from his mother's womb he shall be 
rilled with the sacred Air. 16 And many of the sons of Israel 
shall he turn to their Master-God ; ij and he shall draw near before 
him in the spirit and [prophetic] power of Elijah, 'to turn the fa- 
thers hearts to the children/ and the contumacious [to conduct 
themselves] with the high-mindedness of the virtuous— to make 
ready for the Master a people prepared [for his kingdom]." 

1 8 And Zacharias said to the Divinity: 

"By what am I to know this ? For I am an old man, and my wife 
is far gone in her days." 

19 And the Divinity, answering, said to him: 

"I am Gabriel, the attendant before God, and I was sent to speak 
to you, and to announce to you these good tidings ; 20 and behold, 
you are to be silent and not able to speak till the day in which these 
things befall, because you did not believe my statements, which shall 
be fulfilled in their season." 

21 And the people were expecting Zacharias, and they wondered 
at his delaying in the sanctuary. 22 But when he came out, he was 
not able to speak to them; and they recognized that he had seen a 
vision in the sanctuary. And he kept gesticulating to them, and re- 
mained dumb. 23 And it befell, when the days of his service were 
fulfilled, he departed to his house. 

24 Now, after these days Elisabeth his wife conceived, and she 
hid herself five months, saying : 

25 "The Master has done this to me in the days in which he 
looked upon [me], to take away my reproach among men." 

COMMENTARY 

The Jewish priests were divided into twenty-four courses, or 
"shifts," each course attending to the various rites for eight days, 
or from sabbath to sabbath. 

This story of the prediction of a Nazarite's birth from a barren 
woman is but a homely plagiarism of the really beautiful original 
in Judges xiii. 2-20, where the angel predicts that the barren wife 
of Manoah will bear the Nazarite Samson. (By more accurate 
transliteration, the name Samson becomes Shimson, and Nazarite 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 689 

becomes Nazirite.) In imitation of the story of the birth of Isaac, 
the mother of Ioannes is made aged as well as barren. 

Gabriel is one of the seven planetary Gods, who are attendants 
on the Sun, circling about his golden throne, wherefore they are 
called in Christian mythology "the seven Angels of the Presence." 
His name, which signifies "Strong Man of God," identifies him 
with Mars (Ares), who occupies Scorpio as his zodiacal house, and 
is primarily the God of Generation. 

Ch. 1. 26-38 

26 And in the sixth month the Divinity Gabriel was sent from 
God into a city of Galilee, named Xazaret, 27 to a maiden affianced 
to a man named Ioseph, of the house of David; and the maiden's 
name was Mariam. 28 And entering. her house, [[the Divinity]] 
said: 

"Hail, maiden highly favored! The Master [is] with you. 
[[Blessed are you among women!]]" 

29 But she [[on seeing him]] was troubled at [[his]] saying, 
and was considering what kind of salutation this might be. 30 And 
the Divinity said to her : 

"Fear not, Mariam: for you have found favor with God. 31 
And behold, you shall conceive in your womb and bring forth a son, 
and you shall call his name Iesous. 32 He shall be great, and shall 
be called 'Son of the Highest' ; and the Master-God shall give him 
the throne of his father David; 33 and he shall reign over the 
house of Jacob throughout the aeons, and there shall be no limit to 
his kingdom." 

34 But Mariam said to the Divinity : 

"How is this to happen, since I do not know a man?" 

35 And the Divinity answered and said to her: 

"The sacred Air shall come upon you, and the [generative] power 
of the Highest [God] shall overshadow you; on which account, 
also, the sacred [body] which is being generated shall be called 
'God's Son.' 36 And behold, Elisabeth, your kinswoman — she also 
has conceived a son in her old age, and this is the sixth month 



690 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

to her, the so-called barren woman. 37 For 'no word shall be im- 
potent with God/ " 

38 And Mariam said : 

"Behold, [I am] the Master's slave-girl; let it be done to me 
according to your word." 

COMMENTARY 

Gabriel, one of the seven sublime planetary attendants of the Sun- 
God, here continues to fulfil his mission as forerunner of the stork. 
Having delivered the divine message that Ioannes was to be incar- 
nated, not by a young and capable mother, but by an aged and 
barren woman whose fading vitality and unsupple frame should 
have been spared the ordeal, he now announces to a young unmar- 
ried woman that she is to become the mother of a son through the 
"favor" of God. She was not God's blushing bride, but was al- 
ready betrothed to a worthy mortal. Mariam offers no objections ; 
it would have complicated matters if she had modestly refused com- 
pliance. According to the text of Luke, Ioseph, the mere man, is 
not consulted, and no apologies are offered to him. He is supposed 
to rejoice when he finds that his bride-to-be has already been "over- 
shadowed" by the "power of the Highest." 

Verses 28-30 are also in the Apocryphal Gospel of Mary. The 
name Elisabeth is spelled Elisabet and Eleisabet in the text; and 
in some passages Mariam is given the Latin name Maria. Nazaret 
is spelled in a variety of ways, and Ioannes sometimes appears as 
Ioanes. - 

Ch. 1. 39-45 

39 And Mariam arose in these days and went with haste into the 
hilly [country], into a city of Judah, 40 and entered into the house 
of Zacharias and saluted Elisabeth. 41 And it happened that as 
Elisabeth heard Mariam's salutation the foetus frisked in her belly, 
and Elisabeth was filled with the sacred Air ; 42 and she exclaimed 
in a loud voice and said : 

"Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your 
belly ! 43 And whence can this be to me, that my Master's mother 
should come to me? 44 For behold, as the sound of your saluta- 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 691 

tion reached my ears, the foetus in my belly frisked in exultation. 
45 And blessed [is] the woman who has believed; for there shall 
be a fulfilment of the things spoken to her from the Master." 

COMMENTARY 

Ioannes is here in the sixth month of his intra-uterine career, and 
the word ftptyos aptly describes him ; but the precocity he displays 
in thus recognizing Iesous is the more remarkable from the fact 
that the latter is in the first month of embryonic development and 
not entitled to be called even a foetus. The incident of the prenatal 
rejoicing of Ioannes at meeting his embryonic Master is told in 
coarse vernacular, which it would be useless, if not dishonest, to 
refine in translating; for even when /3p€<f)os is rendered "babe," 
and Koikia "womb," the indelicate and ridiculous story refuses to 
be subdued. 

Ch. 1. 46-56 

46 And Elisabeth [[Mariam]] said: 

" 'My soul' keeps extolling 'the Master,' 

47 And my spirit 'has exulted in God, my Savior.' 

48 For 'he has looked upon the humiliation of his slave-girl' : 
For behold, from now on all generations will felicitate me. 

49 For the Mighty One has done to me great things, 
And 'his name is holy.' 

50 And 'his mercy is to generations and generations 
For those who fear him.' 

5 1 He has wrought a mighty deed with his arm ; 

He has scattered the arrogant by the intellect of their heart. 

52 'He has cast down sovereigns from [their] thrones' and 'has 

exalted the humble.' 

53 'The hungry he has filled with dainties,' and 'he has sent away 

empty the rich.' 



692 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

54 'Israel, his servant, he has helped, 
That he might remember mercy' 

55 (Just as he spoke to our fathers) 

To Abraham and his seed throughout the aeon." 

56 And Mariam stayed with her about three months, and re- 
turned to her house. 

COMMENTARY 

The manuscripts leave it an open question whether the so-called 
Magnificat was improvised by Mariam or by Elisabeth; but from 
its general tone it must be credited to the latter, the barren woman, 
who has been "exalted" by her approaching maternity, and no 
longer feels the "humiliation" of being childless. As a shabby imi- 
tation of Old Testament poetry, which it copiously quotes, it is de- 
void of literary merit; but evidently the later revisers of the text 
esteemed it too beautiful to be wasted on Elisabeth, and so trans- 
ferred it to Mariam. Neither of the women, however, could gain 
poetic lustre from it. 

Ch. 1. 57-66 

57 Now the time was fulfilled for Elisabeth in which she should 
be delivered, and she gave birth to a son. 58 And her neighbors 
and relatives heard that the Master was magnifying his mercy with 
her, and they rejoiced with her. 59 And it befell that on the eighth 
day they came to circumcise the young child ; and they kept calling 
him after the name of his father Zacharias. 60 And his mother 
answered and said : 

"Not at all; but he shall be called Ioannes." 

61 And they said to her : 

"There is no one among your relatives who is called by this 
name." 

62 And they made gestures to his father, [to ask] what he might 
wish to have him called. 63 And he asked for a small writing- 
tablet, and wrote, saying, "His name is Ioannes." And all won- 
dered. 64 And his mouth was opened forthwith, and his tongue 
[loosed], and he spoke, blessing God. 65 And fear came upon all 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 693 

the residents in their neighborhood; and all these subjects were 
being talked of in the whole hilly [country] of Judaea. 66 And all 
who heard them laid them up in their heart, saying : 

"What then shall this young child be? For the Master's hand 
was with him." 

COMMENTARY 

Zacharias, it will be remembered, was stricken dumb by Gabriel 
because he ventured a mild expression of doubt that his aged and 
barren wife would be visited by the stork; but nothing was said 
about his becoming deaf. His relatives, however, have to convey 
their ideas to him by means of the sign-language : they "beckon" 
to him. He is dumb, and therefore can only ask for a writing- 
tablet. How he "asked" for it is not explained; but, in charity to 
the unskilful forger, it may be assumed that Zacharias also talked 
by beckoning. When his vocal organs regain their function — as 
did also his ears, it is to be presumed— the witnesses of the miracle 
manifest the terror and amazement which the forgers never neglect 
to mention on such occasions. 

Ch. 1. 67-80 

67 And Zacharias, his father, was filled with the sacred Air, and 
prophesied, saying: 

68 " 'Blessed [be] the Master, the God of Israel'; 

For he has visited and brought about a ransom for his people, 

69 And has 'raised tip a horn' of salvation for us 
In the house of his servant David 

70 (As he spoke through the mouth of his holy primeval 

prophets) : 

71 'Salvation from our foes, and from the hand of all 'who 

hate its'; 

72 To deal mercifully with our fathers, 
And to 'remember his' holy 'covenant/ 



694 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

73 The oath which he swore to Abraham, our father, 

To grant to us that, 74 having been rescued from the hand 

of our foes, 
We should serve him without fear, 

75 In holiness and virtue before him all the days [ [of our life] ]. 

76 And you also, little child, shall be called a prophet of the 

Highest ; 
For you shall go 'before the face of the Master to prepare his 
ways'; 

77 That he may give the knowledge of salvation to his people 
By the remission of their sins, 

78 Through the compassionate heart of our God, 

In which the dawn from the [Sun's] exaltation shall visit us, 

79 'To shine upon those who are sitting in darkness and Death's 

shadow'; 
That he may direct our feet in the path of oeace." 

80 And the little boy grew, and acquired strength in spirit ; and 
he lived in the deserts until the day of his inauguration before Is- 
rael. 

COMMENTARY 

And now Zacharias, having regained the use of his tongue, feel- 
ing the divine afflatus and not yielding the palm to his aged wife, 
drops into poetry even as she had burst into song. Even with the 
ornaments borrowed from the Hebrew scriptures, the poem is flat 
and amateurish. Judging by Elisabeth's Magnificat and her hus- 
band's inspired utterances, the couple were not only "far gone in 
their days," but were also verging on second childhood. Being a 
Jewish priest, Zacharias prophesies, not that Iesous was to be a 
World-Savior, but that he was to be a ransom for the Jews ; not that 
he would declare a new covenant, but that he would confirm the old 
covenant made with Abraham. In the light of Jewish history it is 
indisputable that as a prophet the senile Zacharias was a signal 
failure. Apparently the gift of prophecy did not run in the fam- 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 695 

ily; for his son Ioannes, the "prophet of the Highest," was unable 
to recognize the Master when he came (vii. 19). 

According to this veracious historical narrative, Ioannes took to 
the desert in early youth, and did not emerge from it until after his 
"inauguration," or assumption of the office of Hierophant of the 
Water-rite and forerunner of Iesous. 

Chapter ii. 1-7 

1 Now it befell in those days, a decree went out from Caesar Au- 
gustus that the entire inhabited world should be registered; 2 (this 
first registration took place when Cyrenius was governor of Syria) 
3 and all went to register themselves, each to his own city. 4 And 
Ioseph also went from Galilee, out of the city of Nazaret, into Ju- 
daea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem (because he 
was of the house and family of David), 5 to register himself with 
Mariam his betrothed [[wife]], she being pregnant. 6 And it 
befell, during the time they were there, that the days were fulfilled 
for her to give birth ; 7 and she brought forth her first-born son ; 
and she wrapped him in swaddling-clothes and laid him in a man- 
ger, because there was no place for them in the inn. 

COMMENTARY 

The parenthetical clauses in verses 2 and 4 are evidently interpo- 
lations. The Cyrenius referred to may have been Quirinius, but if 
so the forger is guilty of an anachronism. The governor of Syria 
during the last days of Herod was Saturninus, who was succeeded 
by Varus, after whom came Quirinius. Even if the whole inhab- 
ited world had been enrolled to its most secluded nooks and corners, 
Nazareth would have escaped registration and taxation, as no such 
city existed. 

Mariam is called the "betrothed" of Ioseph, although she was 
"great with child," and in that precarious condition she was travel- 
ling with Ioseph, the child being born on the journey and presum- 
ably out of wedlock. The word "wife" is an emendation by some 
later forger who recognized the impropriety of having Mariam, un- 
chaperoned and conspicuously in the family way, accompanying 



696 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Ioseph and lodging with him in the stable of an overcrowded cara- 
vansary. Certainly the pair were in no haste to get married; and 
nowhere in Luke is a marriage mentioned. It is highly probable 
that in both Matthew and Luke the story as originally written said 
nothing about a betrothal, but merely introduced Ioseph and Ma- 
riana as a newly wedded couple, the betrothal being a feature added 
by later "historians," who indulged the theological conceit that the 
miraculous pregnancy would be more chaste for a maiden than for 
a married woman, since the latter might be considered guilty of 
unfaithfulness to her marriage-vow. Also by being born of a virgin 
Iesous ranks among the many pagan heroes who were the progeny 
of Gods and mortals. 

Ch. 11. 8-20 

8 And in the same country were shepherds living in the open 
air, guarding their flocks during the night-watches. 9 And [[be- 
hold,]] a Divinity of the Master stood by them, and around them 
shone the Master's glory; and they were in great fear. 10 And the 
Divinity caid to them : 

"Fear not; for behold, I announce to you good tidings of great 
joy which shall be to all the people. 11 For there has been born 
to you to-day a Savior (who is [the] Anointed Master) in the city 
of David. 12 And this [is] the sign to you: you shall find a new- 
born babe wrapped in swaddling-clothes, and lying in a manger." 

13 And on a sudden there appeared with the Divinity a throng 
of the celestial army praising God, and saying : 

14 "Glory to God among those dwelling on high, and on earth 
peace among men of right intent." 

15 And it befell that when the Divinities had departed into the 
sky, the shepherds said to one another : 

"Let us pass along now as far as Bethlehem, and see this subject 
that has occurred, which the Master has made known to us." 

16 And they came in haste, and found both Mariam and Ioseph, 
and the new-born babe lying in the manger. 17 And having seen 
it, they made, known concerning the saying which had been spoken 
to them about this little boy. 18 And all who heard it wondered 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 697 

concerning the things which had been spoken to them by the shep- 
herds. 19 But Mariam kept carefully [in mind] all these sayings, 
pondering them in her heart. 20 And the shepherds returned, glori- 
fying and praising God for all the things which they had heard and 
seen, as it had been said to them. 

COMMENTARY 

This incident of the annunciation to the shepherds, though beau- 
tiful, is somewhat out of keeping with the narrative as a whole. 
For, taking the story literally, there is no important purpose indi- 
cated for the Gods ("angels") to give their direct testimony to 
only a few humble rustics ; and, in fact, no commensurate results 
follow their action. The story was probably copied from some an- 
cient myth; for the compilers of the Synoptics were incapable of 
producing original work of any merit. The story also has a dis- 
tinctly pagan coloring. The epithet soter, "savior," was so obvi- 
ously a theft from pre-Christian Gnosticism that early Christian 
writers were chary about using it : thus Irenaeus throws it back at 
the Gnostics in speaking to them of "your soter!' Stables in the 
Orient were often caves excavated in the hillsides as cheap and cool 
shelters for horses. The Stable of Augeas was a cave, and astro- 
nomically it is associated with Capricornus, while the Asses (Onoi) 
and the Manger (Phatne) are in the opposite sign, Cancer. Now, 
(TTreos, "cave," and cnrapyavov, "swaddling band," alike give the 
number 555, that of liridv^ia, "desire," the principle which impels 
the soul to incarnate; and Capricornus and Cancer, at the Summer 
and the Winter Solstice, are the two "gates" through which the 
soul was said to descend to earth and ascend to the heaven-world. 
In Christian mythology (which is simply pagan mythology mas- 
querading as history) Iesous is born on the clay of the Winter Sol- 
stice, while the nativity of his alter ego, Ioannes the "Baptizer," is 
placed on the day of the Summer Solstice. Hence Ioannes says of 
Iesous {John iii. 30), "It is for him to go on increasing, and for 
me to be ever getting less" ; for here Iesous stands for the Sun in 
ascension, and Ioannes for the Sun in declension. For this astro- 
nomical reason Iesous is conceived just six months later than loan- 



698 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

nes is. But while Iesous was thus appropriately born in the wStable 
of Augeas, in Capricornus, it is the infant Ioannes who should have 
been laid in the Manger, in Cancer. The latter sign is also the 
zodiacal "desert," as it has no brilliant stars. The compiler of Luke, 
however, was not versed in astronomical myths ; he was recording 
historical events that had become "fully established" on the testi- 
mony of eye-witnesses. His weakness for borrowing things, even 
from the widely read writings of Josephus, betrays itself both in 
Luke and in Acts: thus Acts v. 34-37 was "borrowed" from An- 
tiquities xx. v. 97. 

Ch. 11. 21-40 

21 And when eight days were fulfilled for circumcising him, his 
name was called Iesous, the [name] which he was called by the 
Divinity before he was conceived in the belly. 22 And when "the 
days of their purification were fulfilled" according to the law of 
Moses, they brought him to Jerusalem, to dedicate him to the Mas- 
ter 23 (as it is written in the Master's law, "Every male opening 
the womb shall be called devoted to God"), 24 and that they might 
offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the Master's law, 
"A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons." 

25 And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was 
Symeon, and this man was virtuous and circumspect, waiting for 
the consolation of Israel; and upon him was the sacred Air. 26 
And it was divinely communicated to him by the sacred Air that 
he should not see death before he had seen the Master's Anointed. 
2y And he came, [impelled] by the Air, into the temple; and when 
the parents brought in the little child Iesous, that they might sacri- 
fice [the brace of birds] on his account, after the custom of the law, 
28 he also received him into his arms, and praised God, and said : 

29 "Now, O Lord, let thy slave depart 
In peace, according to thy promise ; 

30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, 

31 Which before the face of all peoples thou hast prepared, 

32 ( A light for the initiation of the profane,' 
And the glory of thy people Israel." 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 699 

33 And his father [[Ioseph]] and his mother were wondering 
at the things which were being said about him; 34 and Symeon 
blessed them, and said to Mariam his mother : 

''Behold, this [child] is destined for the downfall and the resur- 
rection of many in Israel, and for a sign that is decried 35 (and 
[[also]] a sword shall transfix your own soul) so that the reason- 
ings of many hearts may be unveiled." 

36 And there was [a certain] Anna, a seeress, the daughter of 
Phanouel, of the tribe of Asher (she was far gone in many days, 
having lived with a husband seven years since her maidenhood, 37 
and [as] a widow as long as eighty- four years), who did not leave 
the temple, [but continued] serving [God] with fastings and sup- 
plications night and day. 38 And coming up at that very hour 
she openly confessed the Master, and spoke concerning him to all 
those who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem. 39 And 
when they had completed all things that were according to the Mas- 
ter's law, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazaret. 

40 And the little boy grew, and acquired strength [[in spirit]], 
being filled with learning ; and God's grace was upon him. 

COMMENTARY 

From the starry heights the narrative drops abruptly to the 
homely observances of the Jewish law, but it swiftly ascends again 
to the celestial regions when it has the venerable Kronos and his 
wife Rhea, disguised as Symeon and Anna, utter prophecies and 
blessings over the circumcised Iesous. True, the great Goddess of 
the temples here wears another name, and poses as a widow ; but 
her constantly remaining in the temple, and the roundabout state- 
ment of her age, betray her identity. Allowing the usual fifteen 
years (according to Greek usage) for her "virginity," the seven 
years of wedded life and eighty- four of widowhood (though the 
Greek here is dubious) would fix her "great age" at one hundred 
and six years; and the numerical value of e Pea (Rhea) is 106. 
But by rendering eo>s "even unto," the revised version fixes her 
"great age" at only eighty-four years. The parenthetical clause 
giving the age of Anna and thereby identifying her with Rhea was 



700 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

probably inserted by an unorthodox interpolator, and it is to be 
classed with the derisive additions to the genealogical table in Mat- 
thew. In the Apocalypse (xviii. 7) the Woman in scarlet, who is 
Rhea as a fallen Goddess, asserts that she is "not a widow," thereby 
contradicting Luke. Kronos, in his later aspect as God of Time, 
might well feel assured that he would not be allowed to depart until 
the Immortal Self was born, bringing about the downfall of all 
that is base in man's nature, the resurrection of all the divine quali- 
ties that are dead in the carnal man, and the unveiling of the 
thoughts of the heart. In the "sign that is decried" orthodox exege- 
tists see the cross ; but as the passage seems to have been plagiarized 
from pagan mythology, the decried sign may have been originally 
the astrological sign Scorpio, and the "sword" that of Ares, the 
Regent of the sign. 

Ch. 11. 41-52 

41 And his parents went yearly to Jerusalem at the feast of the 
passover. 42 And when he came to be twelve years old, they went 
up [ [to Jerusalem] ] according to the custom of the festival ; 43 
and when they had finished the days, as they were returning, the 
boy Iesous remained behind in Jerusalem ; and his parents did not 
know it, 44 but supposing him to be in the company, they went 
a day's journey; and they searched for him among their relatives 
and acquaintances, 45 and not finding him, they returned to Jeru- 
salem, seeking for him. 46 And it befell after three days they 
found him in the temple, sitting in the midst of the teachers, both 
listening to them and putting questions to them; 47 and all his 
hearers were amazed at his intelligence and his answers. 48 And 
when they saw him, they were astonished; and his mother said to 
him: 

"Son, why have you treated us in this manner? Behold, your 
father and I, tormenting ourselves, were searching for you." 

49 And he said to them : 

"Why is it that you were searching for me? Did you not know 
that it behooves me to be about my Father's [affairs] ?" 

50 And they did not understand the saying which he spoke to 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 701 

.hem. 5 1 And he went down with them, and came to Nazaret, and 
was an obedient [son] to them. And his mother carefully kept all 
these subjects in her heart. 52 And Iesous "increased" in learning 
and manhood, "and in grace with God and men." 

COMMENTARY 

This story was probably suggested by a passage in Josephus' Life 
(p. 2), in which the historian modestly tells us that when a child 
he had great memory and understanding, and at the age of four- 
teen had acquired so great a store of learning that the priests and 
principal men of the city frequently consulted him on difficult 
points of the law. But the plagiarist has discreetly refrained from 
attempting to set down any of the profound utterances of Iesous ; 
and in referring to the physical and mental development of the child 
he merely repeats, with a slight change of wording, what has 
already been said of him (verse 40) and also of the youthful Ioan- 
nes (i. 80). The excuse offered by Iesous for having played the 
truant is irrelevant and obscure ; the failure of his parents to under- 
stand it reflects no discredit on their intelligence. 

Chapter hi. 1-14 

I Now, in the fifteenth [year] of the rule of Tiberius Caesar, 
Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch 
of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea 
and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, 2 in the high- 
priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came upon 
Ioannes, the son of Zacharias, in the desert. 3 And he went 
into all the circumjacent region of the Jordan, proclaiming the 
lustration of reform for emancipation from sins, 4 as is writ- 
ten in the book of the oracles of Isaiah the seer, saying: 
"The voice of one who in the desert keeps shouting, 
'The Master's way prepare ye } 
Make ye his pathways straight.' 
5 Every ravine shall be filled up, 

And every mountain and hill shall be made low; 



702 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

And the tortuous zvindings shall become a straight [path], 
And the rough roads smooth; 

6 And all flesh shall see the salvation of God." 

7 He said, therefore, to the crowds who went out to be lus- 
tra ted by him : 

"O brood of vipers, who secretly warned you to flee from the 
divine frenzy impending? 8 Produce, therefore, fruits worthy 
of reform, and do not begin to say within yourselves, 'We have 
Abraham for our father'; for I say to you, From these stones 
God is able to raise up children to Abraham. 9 And even now 
the axe is being applied to the root of the trees ; therefore every 
tree that does not produce [ [good] ] fruit is being cut down and 
thrown into the fire." 

10 And the common people asked him, saying: 
"Then what are we to do?" 

11 And he answered and said to them: 

"He who has two tunics, let him give [one] to him who has 
none; and he who has food, let him do likewise." 

12 Came also tax-collectors to be lustrated, and said to him: 
"Teacher, what are we to do?" 

13 And he said to them: 

"Exact no more than that which is decreed to you." 

14 And those who were serving as soldiers also asked him, 
saying : 

"What are we to do — even we ?" 
And he said to them: 

"Extort from no one by violence, nor by spying and false 
accusing; but be content with your wages." 

COMMENTARY 

Here and in Acts iv. 6 Annas is said to be the high-priest, though 
he had been deposed in the year 1 5 by Valerius Gratus, the Roman 
procurator. It is extremely doubtful that Philip was tetrarch of 
Ituraea. 

The quotation from Isaiah (xl. 3-5) has been revised to suit its 
new environment: "Yahveh" is discarded for "Master"; and the 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 703 

words, "the glory of Yahveh shall be revealed, and all flesh shall 
see it together," are changed to, "all flesh shall see the salvation of 
God." 

' The text of Luke is here more complete than that of the other 
Gospels: each of the four castes is represented at the ceremony, 
although the "Pharisees and Sadducees" of Matthew are shielded 
in Luke, where the scathing words addressed to them are spoken 
instead, very inappropriately, to "the crowds." The Pharisees are 
always treated more leniently in Luke than in Matthew. The dis- 
courses of Ioannes have been shortened, part of his instructions 
being credited elsewhere to Iesous, even as Elisabeth, the mother 
of the "Baptizer," was robbed of her Magnificat to add to the glory 
of the "Messiah's" mother, Mariam. 

Ch. hi. 15-17 

15 Now, as the people were in expectation, and all were de- 
liberating in their hearts concerning Ioannes, whether or not 
he might be the Anointed, 16 Ioannes answered, saying to 
them all: 

"I, indeed, lustrate you with Water, but [a lustrator] is com- 
ing who is mightier than I, the thong of whose sandals I am 
not strong enough to untie: he shall lustrate you with sacred 
Air and Fire; 17 whose winnowing-fan is in his hand, to 
cleanse thoroughly his threshing-floor, and to gather the wheat 
into his granary; but the chaff he will burn up with inextin- 
guishable fire." 

COMMENTARY 

It should be borne in mind that the compiler of Luke claims to be 
narrating historical events the actuality of which had been estab- 
lished by credible eye-witnesses. But when many of the actors in 
the "history" are discoverable in the starry heavens and among the 
pagan Gods, a suspicion naturally arises that these eye-witnesses 
were astronomical observers and spectators of Greek Mystery- 
pageants. The circumcised "Son of David" bearing the mystic 
Fan of Bakchos does not present a convincingly historical figure. 



7 o 4 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Ch. III. 18-20 

18 With many other admonitions, therefore, he announced 
good tidings to the people. (19 But Herod the tetrarch, being 
rebuked by him concerning Herodias, his brother's wife, and 
concerning all the wicked things which Herod had done, 20 
added this also to them all, that he shut up Ioannes in prison.) 

COMMENTARY 

The mendacious statement that Ioannes was imprisoned is here 
inserted in the account of his administering the water-rite, and 
before the lustration of Iesous ! It takes the place of the admoni- 
tions addressed to the candidates by Ioannes, these admonitions 
having been transferred to the discourses of Iesous. 

Ch. hi. 21-38 

2 1 Now it befell, when all the people had been lustrated, and 
Iesous also having been lustrated, and praying, the sky was 
opened, 22 and the sacred Air descended in a bodily form, like 
a dove, upon him, and a voice issued from the sky, saying: 
"Thou art my Son, the beloved; of thee I have approved." 
23 Now Iesous* self, when he began [his initiation], was 
about thirty years of age, being, as was reputed, the son of 
Ioseph, [whose descent is traced back through] Heli, 24 
Matthat, Levi, Melchi, Jannai, Ioseph, 25 Mattathias, Amos, 
Nahum, Esli, Naggai, 26 Maath, Mattathias, Semein, Iosech, 
Joda, 27 Joanan, Rhesa, Zerubbabel, SalathieL Neri, 28 
Melchi, Addi, Kosam, Elmadam, Er, 29 Iesous, Eliezer, Jorim, 
Matthat, Levi, 30 Symeon, Ioudas, Ioseph, Jonam, Eliakim, 
31 Melea, Menna, Mattatha, Nathan, David, ^2 Jesse, Obed, 
Boaz, Salmon, Nahshon, 33 Amminadab, Ami, Hezron, Perez, 
Judah, 34 Jacob, Isaac, Abraham, Terah, Nahor, 35 Serug, 
Reu, Peleg, Eber, Shelah, 36 Kainan, Arphaxad, Shem, Noah, 
Lamech, 37 Methuselah, Enoch, Jared, Mahalaleel, Kainan, 
38 Enos, Seth, [and] Adam, [to] God. 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 705 

COMMENTARY 

Here a theological touch has been added to the consecration of 
Iesous by having him pray, and a materialistic one by giving the 
dove "a bodily form." In some manuscripts the benediction from 
the sky is a quotation from Psalms ii. 7, "Thou art my son, this 
day have I begotten thee." As God, according to this veracious 
history, had begotten Iesous some thirty years before, the statement 
here could be made only in a mystical sense. One would expect 
that the Deity would manifest great originality of thought and 
fluency of expression; it is disappointing when, on so solemn an 
occasion, he merely quotes a text from the Hebrew scriptures and 
makes no comments in elucidation of it. 

There is a lacuna in verse 23, which the revisers fill in with the 
words "to teach." But here Iesous is not beginning to teach, but is 
receiving the first rite of initiation, after which he is driven to the 
desert and subjected to temptations. He is represented as having 
begun to teach unofficially at the tender age of twelve. 

To avoid the tedious repetition of the words, "the son of," the 
list of the ancestors of Iesous is here translated in a simpler form. 
The genealogy, compiled from the Hebrew writings by some ig- 
noramus, is merely a literary curiosity. The "Joda," otherwise 
"Ioudas," of verse 26 is elsewhere unknown, as is also the "ances- 
tor" of the same name given in verse 30; Shealtiel is transliterated 
as Salathiel, and the manuscripts give a number of variations of 
the names, as Sala for Salmon, Adam or Admin for Amminadab, 
and Aram for Ami. The genealogy can not be reconciled with the 
one in Matthew, even by the absurd hypothesis that it is the gene- 
alogy of Mariam. It gives the descent of Iesous through Ioseph, 
who is referred to as his putative father, and does not even mention 
Mariam. While the historian who enriched the text of Matthew 
was content to trace the ancestors of Iesous back to King David, in 
Luke Iesous is shown to be literally descended from God, whose 
"son" Adam was. Now, according to Genesis (i. 7) Adam was a 
manufactured article, and it is difficult to see how he could be 
God's "son" ; the poor man had neither father nor mother, but 



706 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

only a "maker." As he was the sire of all mankind, this labored 
attempt to prove that Iesous was one of his descendants was need- 
less. And why was it necessary to enumerate seventy-six progen- 
itors, who must all be regarded as "sons" of God, when the list 
begins with the putative father of Iesous, Ioseph, the real father 
being God himself, who had begotten Iesous through Mariam be- 
fore Ioseph took her to wife? It is clear that whoever drew up the 
table, unless he was feeble-minded, regarded Ioseph as the actual 
father of Iesous, and that the words o>s ivofjul^eTo, "as was re- 
puted," were foisted in the text after the doctrine of the super- 
natural birth had been invented; and by this interpolation the 
genealogy was made even more foolish than it was in the first 
place. 

Chapter iv. 1-13 

1 And Iesous, full of the sacred Air, returned from the Jor- 
dan, and was carried off by the Air into the desert 2 for forty 
days, being made trial of by the Accuser. And he ate nothing 
in those days; and when they were completed, he was hungry. 
3 And the Accuser said to him : 

"If you are a Son of God, speak to this stone, that it may become 
a loaf of bread." 

4 And Iesous answered him : 

"It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, [[but on every 
word of God']']: '" 

5 And leading him up [[into a lofty mountain, the Accuser]] 
showed him all the kingdoms of the inhabited world in a moment 
of time. 6 And the Accuser said to him : 

"I will confer on you all this authority, and their glory; for it 
has been handed down to me, and I confer it on whomsoever I will. 
7 If, therefore, you will worship me, it shall all be yours." 

8 And Iesous answered and said to him : 

"[[Get behind me, Adversary; for]] it is written, 'Thy Master- 
God thou shalt worship, and him only shalt thou serve/ ' 

9 And he carried him off to Jerusalem and set him on a battle- 
ment of the temple, and said to him : 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 707 

"If you are a Son of God, hurl yourself from hence; 10 for it 
is written : 

" 'He shall give his Divinities charge concerning thee, to guard 
thee' 11 and, 

" 'They shall lift you up in their hands, 

Lest ever you strike your foot against a stone/ ' 

12 And Iesous answered and said to him: 

"It is said, 'Thou shalt not make trial of thy Master-God/ ' 

13 And when the Accuser had finished every trial, he de- 
parted from him until the season. 

COMMENTARY 

Evidently Iesous was gazing upon a flat planet when he stood on 
the mountain overlooking all the kingdoms in this world. 

Matthew differs from Luke in transposing the order of two of 
the tests or trials. As there could hardly have been any disinter- 
ested "eye-witnesses" to these doings, information concerning them 
must have been derived originally from either Iesous or Satan. 
It is clearly intimated that the Accuser was to return at another 
"season," though the "history" does not record his return. Mysti- 
cally the four seasons represent the four degrees of initiation. 

Ch. iv. 14-30 

14 And Iesous returned in the power of the Air to Galilee; 
and a rumor concerning him went out through the whole cir- 
cumjacent [country]. 15 And he taught in their synagogues, 
being glorified by all. 16 And he came to Nazaret, where he 
had been brought up ; and he entered, according to his custom 
on the sabbath day, into the synagogue, and stood up to read 
aloud. 17 And the book of Isaiah the seer was handed over 
to him ; and he opened the book, and found the passage where 
it was written: 

18 " 'The Spirit of the Master is upon me, 

Because he has anointed me to announce good tidings to the 
poor; 



708 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

He has sent me [[to heal the broken-hearted,]] to proclaim 
deliverance to captives, 
And recovery of sight to the blind, 
To send away the crushed in deliverance, 

19 To proclaim the propitious year of the Master/ ' 

20 And he folded up the book, gave it back to the attendant, 
and sat down ; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were gazing 
intently at him. 21 And he began to~ say to them : 

"To-day this scripture has been fulfilled in your ears." 

22 And all were testifying for him, and were wondering at the 
sayings of grace that went out from his mouth; and they said: 

"Is not this Ioseph's son?" 

23 And he said to them : 

"Surely you will say to me this proverb, 'Physician, heal your- 
self,' [and say also,] 'Whatever [cures] we have heard have oc- 
curred in Kapernaum, do here also in your native [city].' ' 

24 And he said: 

"Amen, I say to you, No seer is acceptable in his native 
[city]. 25 But in truth I say to you, There were many widows 
in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up three years 
and six months, when a great famine occurred over all the land; 
26 but Elijah was sent to none of them except 'to Sarepta, of 
Sidonia, to a ividow-womari ; 27 and there were many lepers in 
Israel at the time of Elisha the seer, but none of them was cleansed 
except Naaman the Syrian." 

28 And all in the synagogue were filled with indignation on 
hearing these things ; 29 and they rose up, and threw him out 
of the city, and dragged him to the brow of the mountain on which 
their city was built, that they might hurl him headlong. 30 But 
he passed through the midst of them, and went away. 

COMMENTARY 

In the oldest manuscripts it is said that Iesous "opened" or "un- 
folded" the book, the forger having either overlooked, or not 
knowing, the fact that the Jewish books were scrolls wound on 
rollers ; in later manuscripts the reading has been changed to "un- 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 709 

rolled/' but without correcting the other statement that he " folded"' 
the book. Having closed it, he states that the drought in the days 
of Elijah lasted "three years and six months," whereas if he had 
"opened" the scriptures at I Kings xviii. 1 he would have learned 
that rain came "in the third year," not in the fourth. The story 
is far better told in the other Synoptics; here it has been ruined by 
an impudent attempt to improve it and give it a Jewish coloring. 
Although the congregation in the synagogue gaze at Iesous with 
admiration, and testify for him, he uses insulting language towards 
them, whereupon they attempt to murder him, and he escapes by 
using his magical power. 

Ch. iv. 31-44 

31 And he went down to Kapernaum, a city of Galilee. And he 
was teaching them on the sabbath; 32 and they were astounded at 
his teaching; for his doctrine was [based] on authority. 33 And 
in the synagogue was a man possessed by the spirit of an unclean 
ghost; and he shouted with a loud voice, 34 saying: 

"Ha! What [matters it] to us and to you, Nazarene Iesous? 
Are you come to destroy us? I know you, who you are — God's 
devotee." 

35 And Iesous reproved him, saying: 

"Keep quiet, and come out of him." 

And after throwing him down in [their] midst, the ghost came 
out of him, not having harmed him at all. 36 And astonishment 
came upon all, and they spoke to one another, saying: 

"What doctrine is this? For with authority and efficacy he en- 
joins the unclean spirits— and they come out!" 

37 And the noise concerning him went out into every section 
of the circumjacent [country]. 

38 And he rose up from the synagogue, and entered into the 
house of Simon. And Simon's mother-in-law was afflicted with 
a great fever; and they asked him about her. 39 And he stood 
over her and reproved the fever, and it left her; and forthwith 
she arose and served up [a dinner] to them. 



;io THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

40 And at set of sun all those who had [relatives] infirm 
with various diseases brought them to him, and he laid his 
hands on every one of them, and healed them. 41 And ghosts 
also came out of many, screaming and saying : 

"Thou art [[the Anointed,]] the Son of God!" 

And he, rebuking them, would not permit them to speak, be- 
cause they knew him to be the Anointed. 42 And when day 
came, he came out and went into a desert place ; and the crowds 
were searching for him, and came to him, and kept holding him 
back, that he might not go from them. 43 But he said to them : 

"It is necessary for me to announce as good tidings the kingdom 
of God to the other cities also ; for I was sent forth for this." 

44 And he was proclaiming [the tidings] in the synagogues of 
Judaea [[Galilee]]. 

COMMENTARY 

In these three incidents the text tamely follows that of Mark, 
with slight but injudicious variations. The wording is ludicrously 
crude, as in the tautologic phrase, "the spirit of an unclean ghost." 
The healing of Simon's wife's mother precedes the choosing of 
Simon and the other disciples, whereas in Mark and Matthew it 
properly follows the calling of the four. The reading "Galilee" in 
verse 44, in the received text, lacks good authority, though it ac- 
cords with Mark. 

Chapter v. i-ii 

1 And it befell, while the crowds were pressing upon him and 
listening to the doctrine of God, that he was standing by the 
Lake of Gennesaret; 2 and he saw two [[little]] ships at their 
moorings by the lake; but the fishermen had disembarked and 
were washing their nets. 3 And going aboard one of the ships, 
which was Simon's, he asked him to put out from land a little ; 
and he sat down, and from the ship he taught the crowds. 4 
And when he had ceased speaking, he said to Simon : 

"Put off into deep water, and let down your nets for a haul." 

5 And Simon answered and said : 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 711 

"Captain, we worked hard all night, and caught nothing; but at 
your command I shall let down the nets." 

6 And when they had done this they enclosed a great shoal of 
fishes, and their nets were breaking. 7 And they beckoned to their 
partners in the other ship, that they should come and help them; 
and they came, and filled both the ships, so that they were sinking. 
8 And Simon Petros, when he saw it, fell at the knees of Iesous, 
saying : 

"Depart from me; for I, Master, am a man steeped in wicked- 
ness." 

9 For astonishment seized him, and all those with him, at the 
haul of fishes which they had taken; 10 and in like manner 
Iakobos and Ioannes, the sons of Zebedaios, who were share- 
takers with Simon, [were astonished]. And Iesous said to 
Simon : 

"Fear not. From now on you shall be catching men." 

11 And having brought their ships to land, they left every- 
thing, and went along after him. ; . 

COMMENTARY 

The Sea of spatial ^Ether is but poorly represented by the Sea 
of Galilee, and here the latter is called a lake, while Argo Navis is 
converted into two ships, which a belated "historian" qualifies as 
"little." This degradation of things celestial is completed by the 
revisers, who boldly change the ship into a "boat," thus giving the 
word ttXolop a questionable rendering. In verse 2 a variant read- 
ing, inconsistent with the remainder of the passage, gives the 
word in its diminutive form, for which "boat" is the correct mean- 
ing. 

The story of the "miraculous draught of fishes" is peculiar to 
Luke. It does not necessarily involve anything miraculous, how- 
ever; but it certainly is a "fish-story." It is evidently a literalized 
version of the allegory in Matthew xiii. 47, 48. 

The compiler of Luke, lacking good taste, invariably lowered the 
tone of the narrative and obscured or obliterated its allegorical 
meaning when adding to the text of Mark or expanding it. 



712 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Ch. v. 12-16 

12 And it befell, while he was in one of the cities, that behold, a 
man full of leprosy [came to him] ; and when he saw Iesous, he 
fell on his face and requested him, saying: 

"Master, if you are willing, you can purify me." 

13 And he stretched out his hand and touched him, saying: 
"I am willing; be purified." 

And immediately the leprosy went away from him. 14 And he 
enjoined him to tell no one, but [said to him] : 

"Go and show yourself to the priest, and offer [sacrifice] for 
your purification, as directed by Moses, for a testimony to them." 

15 But the report concerning him became even more prevalent; 
and large crowds kept coming to hear [him], and to be healed [ [by 
him]] of their infirmities. 16 But he kept retiring in the deserts 
and praying. 

COMMENTARY 

Apparently a few words have been dropped out of verse 14, prob- 
ably by a careless copyist, for the sentence changes ungrammatically 
from an indirect to a direct quotation. 

The phrase "it befell" recurs throughout the text like the familiar 
"once upon a time" of fairy stories, and frequently places and per- 
sons are only vaguely designated; here "one of the cities" figures 
mistily in the narrative, which, as a whole, is not even a passable 
imitation of historical writing. 

Ch. v. 17-26 

17 And it befell on one of those, days that he was teaching, 
and there were sitting [in the assemblage] Pharisees and law- 
teachers, who were come from every village of Galilee and 
Judaea and Jerusalem : and the power of the Master was 
[aroused] that he should heal. 18 And behold, [four] men 
carry on a bed a man who was paralyzed ; and they were seek- 
ing to bring him in and lay him before him. 19 And not find- 
ing by what [way] they might bring him in, on account of 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 713 

the crowd, they went up on the housetop and let him down 
through the tiles with his couch into the midst before Iesous. 
20 And seeing their faith, he said [ [to him] ] : 
"Man, your sins are remitted to you." 

21 And the scribes and Pharisees began to argue, saying: 
"Who is this [man] who is defaming [God] ? Who can re- 
mit sins, except God alone?" 

22 But Iesous, having discerned by his intuitive mind their 
arguings, answered and said to them: 

"Why are you arguing in your hearts? 23 Which is easier, 
to say, 'Your sins are remitted,' or to say, 'Arise and walk'? 
24 But that you may know that the Son of man has authority 
on earth to remit sins," (he said to the paralytic,) "I say to 
you, Arise, and take up your couch, and go to your house." 

25 And forthwith he rose up before them, and took up the 
[couch] on which he used to lie, and departed to his house, 
glorifying God. 26 And entrancement possessed [them] all, 
and they glorified God; and they- were filled with fear, saying: 

"We have seen marvels to-day!" 

COMMENTARY 

This event befalls "on one of those days," but in what city we 
are not told. According to Mark it happened in Kapernaum, but 
according to Matthew in the native city of Iesous, that is, Nazaret. 
The fact that there were four litter-bearers (who are important 
figures in the allegory) is stated only in Mark. 

Ch. v. 27-39 

27 And after these things he went forth, and he saw a tax- 
collector, Levi by name, sitting at the custom-house, and said 
to him: 

"Come along after me." 

28 And he forsook all, and rose up, and went along after 
him. 

29 And Levi made a great feast for him at his house; and 
there was a great crowd of tax-collectors and others, who were 



714 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

reclining [at table] with them. 30 And the Pharisees and the 
scribes of them grumbled at his disciples, saying: 

"Why do you eat with tax-collectors and immoral men?" 

31 And Iesous answered and said to them: 

"Those who are sound have no need of a physician, but those 
who are ill. 32 I have not come to call the virtuous, but the 
immoral, to reform." 

33 And they said to him: 

"[[Why do]] the disciples of Ioannes fast frequently, and 
likewise the [disciples] of the Pharisees, but yours keep eating 
and drinking?" 

34 And Iesous said to them: 

"Can you make the sons of the bridechamber fast, while the 
bridegroom is with them? 35 But the days will come; and 
when the bridegroom shall be taken away from them, then they 
shall fast in those days." 

36 And he spoke also an allegory to them: 

"No one rips a patch from a new garment and puts it on an 
old garment, otherwise he will both rip the new, and the patch 
from the new will not harmonize with the old. 37 And no one 
puts fresh wine into old wineskins, otherwise the fresh wine 
will burst the wineskins, and [the wine] itself will be spilled, 
and the wineskins will be destroyed; 38 but fresh wine must 
be put into new wineskins, [ [and both are preserved together. 
39 And no one having drunk old [wine] desires fresh; for he 
says, 'The old is wholesome.']]" 

COMMENTARY 

At the banquet in the house of the fifth disciple (who is here 
called "Levi," but is really Ioudas, the Regent of the sign Aries) 
the subject of esotericism and exotericism is appropriately intro- 
duced in the allegories of the new patch and the fresh wine; and in 
Matthew the subject is continued in the subsequent incident of the 
healing of the woman with an issue of blood and the raising of 
Iaeiros' daughter, but in Luke, as in Mark, this incident has been 
disconnected from the banquet and badly dislocated. 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 715 

Chapter vi. i-i i 

1 Now, it befell that on a [ [second-first] ] sabbath he was going 
through the grain-fields; and his disciples were plucking the ears, 
and eating, rubbing them in their hands. 2 But some of the Phari- 
sees said [[to them]] : 

"Why are you doing what it is not lawful [ [to do] ] on the 
sabbath?" 

3 And answering them, Iesous said : 

"Have you not read even this, which David did, when he was 
hungry, he and those with him : 4 how he entered into God's 
house, and took and ate 'the loaves of the display-offering' (and 
gave also to those with him), which it is not lawful to eat, except 
for the priests only?" 

5 And he said to them : 

"The Son of man is Master [[also]] of the sabbath." 

6 And it befell [[also]] on another sabbath that he entered into 
the synagogue and taught ; and a man was there and his right hand 
was withered. 7 And the scribes and the Pharisees were watching 
him, so that if he should heal [him] on the sabbath they might 
find [cause] to prefer charges against him. 8 But he knew their 
designs, and said to the man who had the withered hand : 

"Rise up, and stand in the midst." 

And he arose and stood before all. 9 And Iesous said to them : 

"I ask you, Is it lawful to do right or to do wrong on the sab- 
bath, to save a [man's] life, or to kill [him] ?" 

10 And having surveyed them all, he said [[to the man]] : 

"Stretch out your hand." 

And he did [[so]], and his hand was restored [[sound]] like 
the other. 1 1 But they were filled with folly, and talked with one 
another about what they might do with Iesous. 

COMMENTARY 

The Codex Bezse, supposed to date from the sixth century, trans- 
poses verse 5 to the end of verse 10, and follows verse 4 with the 
following narrative: "On the same day he beheld a certain man 



?i6 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

working on the sabbath, and said to him: 'Man, blessed are you 
if you know what you are doing; but if you do not know, you are 
accursed and a transgressor of the law.' " 

What is practically a repetition of this story about Iesous healing 
on the sabbath is found in xiv. 1-6 : there the man has the dropsy 
instead of a withered hand, and is in a Pharisee's house instead of 
being in the synagogue; but trifling discrepancies of that sort are 
to be expected in this "history" when two versions of the same 
affair are given. Here the first version is taken from Mark, while 
the second one is included in the olla podrida miscalled the peri- 
scope. 

Ch. vi. 12-23 

12 And it befell in those days that he went out into the moun- 
tain to pray; and he was spending the night in prayer to God. 
13 And when day came, he called to [him] his disciples; and 
he chose from them twelve, whom also he named "Messen- 
gers" : 14 Simon, whom he also named Petros, and Andreas 
his brother, and Iakobos and Ioannes, and Philippos and Ptole- 
maios Junior, 15 and Matthias and Thomas, and Iakobos the 
[son] of Alphaios, and Simon who was called the Zealot, 16 
and Ioudas [the brother] of Iakobos, and Ioudas Iskariotes, 
who became a traitor. 17 And he came down with them, and stood 
on a level place, and a great crowd of his disciples and a great 
throng of people from all Judaea and Jerusalem, and the sea-coast 
of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him, and to be cured of their 
diseases; 18 and those who were annoyed by unclean spirits were 
healed. 19 And all the crowd sought to touch him, for a power 
went out from him and cured [them] all. 

20 And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said : 
"Beatified are ye, the mendicants: for yours is the kingdom 

of God. 

21 "Beatified are ye who are hungry now: for you shall be 
feasted. 

"Beatified are ye who are wailing now : for you shall laugh. 

22 "Beatified are ye when men shall hate you, and when they 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 717 

shall exclude you [from the Mysteries], and reproach you, and 
strike out your name as undeserving, on account of the Son of man. 
23 Rejoice on that day, and frisk : for behold, your reward is great 
in the heaven-world; for in the same way their fathers did to the 
prophets. 

COMMENTARY 

In Matthew the "sermon on the mount" follows the calling of 
the first four disciples ; here in Luke, where it may be more prop- 
erly styled the "sermon on the plain," it comes immediately after 
the selection of the twelve companions, who are erroneously termed 
"apostles," or "messengers." The discourse is a mere miscellany 
of dislocated passages; some that are placed elsewhere in Luke are 
included by Matthew in the discourse, but about half the material 
of which it is composed in Matthew is peculiar to that Gospel. 

From verse 22 and other passages in Luke and Acts it is to be 
inferred that the compiler of Luke (who was very probably also 
the author of Acts) was a rejected candidate for initiation in the 
Mysteries, and that he felt very sore over his rejection, having been 
"reproached" and called poneros, "worthless," a term opposed to 
chrcstos, "worthy," the appellation given an accepted candidate. If 
so, he was but one of many who embraced Christianity only after 
having been excluded from the Greek Mysteries. Zosimos (Book 
II) says of the Emperor Constantine, who murdered his own son 
and committed many other atrocities : "He went to the priests 
to be purified from his crimes. But they told him that there was 
no kind of lustration that was sufficient to clear him of such enor- 
mities. A Spaniard, named x\igyptios, very familiar with the court 
ladies, being at Rome, assured Constantine that the Christian re- 
ligion would teach him how to cleanse himself from all his offences, 
and that they who received it were immediately absolved from all 
their sins. Constantine no sooner heard this than he easily believed 
it, and, forsaking the rites of his country, embraced those which 
Aigyptios offered him." After receiving the Christian lustration, 
however, Constantine remained the same villainous despot that he 
was before he embraced the new religion. 



718 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Ch. vi. 24-49 

24 "But woe to you, the rich : for you have had your full con- 
solation ! 

25 "Woe to you who are filled : for you shall hunger! 

"Woe [ [to you] ] who laugh now : for you shall wail and weep ! 

26 "Woe [[to you]] when all men shall speak well of you: for 
in the same way their fathers did to the false prophets ! 

27 "But I say to you, my hearers, Love your enemies, treat 
nobly those who hate you, 28 bless those who curse you, 
[[and]] pray for those who insult you. 29 To him who strikes 
you on the [right] cheek, offer him also the -other; and from 
him who takes away your cloak, do not forbid your tunic also. 
30 Give to every one who begs of you; and of him who takes 
away things belonging to you, do not demand their return. 31 
And as you wish that men should do to you, do you also to 
them likewise. 32 And if you affectionately greet those who 
greet you affectionately, what sort of graciousness is it on your 
part? For even the sin-hardened greet affectionately those who 
affectionately greet them. 33 And if you do good to those who do 
good to you, what sort of graciousness is it on your part? For 
even the sin-hardened do that very thing. 34 And if you lend to 
those from whom you expect to receive [interest], what sort of 
graciousness is it on your part ? Even the sin-hardened lend to the 
sin-hardened, that they may get back fair [interest]. 35 But love 
your enemies, and do good [to them], and lend, never expecting 
[interest] ; and your reward shall be great, and you shall become 
sons of the Highest [God], for he is gracious to the ungrateful 
and undeserving. 36 Become merciful, even as your Father is 
merciful. 37 And judge not, and you shall not be judged; and 
condemn not, and you shall not be condemned; release, and you 
shall be released; 38 give, and it shall be given to you; honest 
measure, pressed down, shaken together, [ [and] ] running over, 
shall they give into your lap. For with what standard you 
measure by, it shall be measured to you [[again]]." 

39 And he spoke also an allegory to them: 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 719 

"Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall 
into a pit? 40 A disciple is not above his teacher; but every 
one when his character is moulded shall be as his teacher. 41 
But why do you look at the dust-particle that is in your brother's 
eye, but do not discern the beam which is in your own eye? 
42 Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother, permit [that] 
I cast out the dust-particle which is in your eye,' when you 
yourself do not behold the beam which is in your own eye? 
You hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of your own eye, 
and then you will see steadily to cast out the dust-particle 
which is in your brother's eye. 43 For there is no good tree 
that produces bad fruit, nor again a bad tree that produces good 
fruit. 44 For each tree is known by its own fruit. For [men] do 
not gather figs from thorn-bushes, nor do they pick grape-clus- 
ters from bramble-bushes. 45 The good man out of his heart's 
good treasure brings forth that which is good; and the bad 
[man] out of the bad [[treasure of his heart]] brings forth 
that which is bad : for out of the heart's superfluity his mouth 
speaks. 

46 "And why do you call me 'Master, Master,' and not do 
the things which I say? 47 Every one who comes to me and 
hears my arcane doctrines, and practises them, I shall show you 
to whom he is like : 48 he is like a man building a house, who 
excavated and deepened, and laid a foundation upon the rock: 
and when an inundation came, the flood burst upon that house, 
and could not shake it, because it had been well builded. 49 
But he who heard, and did not practise, is like a man who built 
a house upon the earth without a foundation, against which the 
flood burst, and immediately it fell in; and the crash of that 
house was great." 

COMMENTARY 

Though having but a scanty supply of beatitudes, the compiler 
has added to them several "woes" of which the text of Matthew 
is innocent. They are formed, it will be noticed, by simply revers- 
ing the beatitudes, and this device for "padding" is found else- 



720 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

where in the text. The discourse is largely composed of spurious 
material, very badly written, and for the most part nonsensical. 
The command (verse 30) to give to every beggar, regardless of 
merit, and not to require the return of things wrongfully taken 
away, is, like much of this "sermon," mere priestly gush. The 
peculiar doctrine is here announced that people who are prosperous, 
well-fed, and jovial and highly esteemed are to receive woe in the 
next world ; while heavenly bliss is reserved for beggars, starvelings, 
mourners and persons who are disliked and ostracized. As the early 
Christians, being recruited from the lowest classes, were poor and 
ignorant, it is but natural that their literature should express a sense 
of their bitter wrongs; and it is fitting that Iesous, in the character 
of a religious and social reformer, should console the poor and 
downtrodden, while reproving the oppressors who heap up. riches 
by exploiting the common people. But these "beatitudes" and "woes" 
are not the teaching of a religious reformer, nor even the outcry of 
the victims of greed ; they are but the ranting of the insincere priest, 
who plays upon the prejudices, hopes and fears of the ignorant. 
The shallow doctrine enunciated is that those who are happy in this 
world will be unhappy in the after world, and those who are miser- 
able on earth will be blest in heaven. Only the poor are expected 
to believe this; the rich understand that the doctrine is merely de- 
signed to make the downtrodden masses submissive and resigned to 
their wretchedness. 

Chapter vii. i-io 

1 And when he had completed all his words in the ears of ine 
people, he entered into Kapernaum. 2 And a certain centurion's 
slave, who was prized by him, was ill and about to die. 3 And hav- 
ing heard about Iesous, he sent to him elders of the Jews, entreating 
him that he would come and save his slave. 4 And they, having 
come to Iesous, besought him diligently, saying: 

"He is worthy that you should grant him this; 5 for he loves 
our nation, and himself built us our synagogue." 

6 And Iesous went with them. And when already he was not 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 721 

far distant from the house, the centurion sent friends [[to him]], 
saying to him : 

"Master, do not trouble [yourself] ; for I am not respectable, 
that you should come under my roof : 7 wherefore neither did I 
deem myself worthy to come to you; but say the word, and my 
slave-boy will be cured. 8 For I also am a man appointed under 
authority, having under myself soldiers : and I say to this one, 'Go,' 
and he goes ; and to another, 'Come,' and he comes ; and to my slave, 
'Do this,' and he does it." 

9 And when Iesous heard these things, he wondered at him, and 
turned and said to the crowd following him : 

"I say to you, Not even in Israel have I found so great faith." 

10 And those who had been sent, having returned to the house, 
found the [[sicklied]] slave sound. 

COMMENTARY 

The centurion was a rich slave-owner, but no "Woe unto you 
who are rich" is pronounced against him; instead, "he is worthy" 
that his slave should be healed (his chattel preserved) because — here 
speaks the priest— "he built us our synagogue." Thus there is one 
doctrine for the poor, and another one for the rich. The slave is 
saved through his master's faith, not through his own; all that is 
said in favor of the dying sufferer is that he was "prized" (enti- 
:;ios) by his master, and this may mean either that he was held in 
honor (though a slave) or that he was rated as a highly valuable 
piece of property. 

Ch. vii. 11-17 

11 And it befell that [[on the]] next [[day]] he went into a 
city called Nam ; and with him went his [ [many] ] disciples and 
a great crowd. 12 And as he drew near to the gate of the city, 
also behold, there was carried out [a youth] who was dead, the 
only-born son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a consid- 
erable crowd from the city was with her. 13 And when the Master 
saw her, his heart was stirred, and he said to her : 

"Do not weep." 



722 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

14 And he came near and touched the coffin; and the bearers 
halted. And he said: 

"Young man, I say to you, Arise." 

15 And the dead man sat up, and began to speak; and he gave 
him to his mother. 16 And fear seized all, and they glorified God, 
saying : 

"A great prophet has risen up among us," and, "God has visited 
his people." 

17 And this report went out concerning him in the whole of 
Judaea, and in all the circumjacent [country]. 

COMMENTARY 

The city of Nain, as well as this story, is peculiar to Luke. Jose- 
phus mentions a village called Nain, but it was not in Galilee. 
Eusebios, an unveracious church historian and accomplished forger 
of the fourth century, says in one place that Nain was in the neigh- 
borhood of Endor and Scythopolis, and elsewhere that it was two 
miles south of Tabor. Modern ecclesiastical' geographers place it 
on their maps and identify it with a village called Nein. But, ad- 
mitting that Iesous, whether at Nain or anywhere else, raised a 
dead man to life, the feat would prove no more than that he, as 
a magician, had power to call back the soul to the physical body 
from which it had departed; and this, according to ancient belief 
as held by the Greeks, was possible during the first three days after 
death. 

Ch. vii. 18-35 

18 And the disciples of Ioannes reported to him about all these 
things. 19 And having called to him certain two of his disciples, 
Ioannes sent them to Iesous, saying : 

"Are you the Coming One, or are we expecting another?" 

20 And when the men came to him, they said: 

"Ioannes the Lustrator has sent us to you, saying, 'Are you the 
Coming One, or are we expecting another ?' " 

21 In that [[same]] hour he healed many of diseases and 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 72$ 

scourges and evil spirits, and favored many blind men to see. 22 
And [[Iesous]] answered and said to them. 

"Go and report to Ioannes the things which you have seen and 
heard : the blind recover their sight, the lame are walking, the lepers 
are cleansed, and the deaf are hearing, the dead are raised up, the 
poor are being told the good tidings. 23 And blessed is he, whoever 
it [may be], who shall not be offended on account of me." 

24 And when the messengers of Ioannes had departed, he 
began to say to the crowds concerning Ioannes: 

"What did you go out into the desert to behold — a reed be- 
ing swayed by the wind? 25 But what did you go out to look 
at — a man clothed in soft garments? Behold, those who are 
arrayed in resplendent clothing and live in luxury are in regal 
[mansions]. 26 But what did you go out to look at — a seer? 
Yes ! I say to you, and [a man] more uncommon than a seer. 

27 This [forerunner] is he concerning whom it is written: 

'Behold, I am sending my messenger before thy face, 
Who shall prepare thy way before thee/ 

28 I say to you, Among [men] of women born, there is no one 
more mature than Ioannes [[the Lustrator]] ; but he who is 
a mere infant in the kingdom of God is a more mature [man] 
than he. (29 And all the people, when they heard, and the tax- 
collectors, having been lustrated with the lustral-rite of Ioan- 
nes, held that God was just. 30 But the Pharisees and the law- 
yers, not having been lustrated by him, disregarded as to them- 
selves the counsel of God.) 31 To what, then, shall I liken the 
men of this generative-sphere, and to what are they like? ^2 
They are like to little children who, sitting in the market-place, 
keep calling to one another, [and] who say: 

'We have fluted to you, and you did n't dance; 

We have wailed, and you did n't weep.' 
33 For Ioannes the Lustrator has come to you eating no bread 
nor drinking wine; and you keep saying, 'He is possessed by 
a ghost.' 34 The Son of man has come eating and drinking; 
and you keep saying, 'Behold, a glutton and a wine-swiller, a 



724 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

friend of tax-collectors and immoral men!' 35 And by all her 
children 'Learning' is held to be accurate!" 

COMMENTARY 

This portion of the text follows closely the parallel passage in 
Matthew; either the one was copied from the other or both were 
taken from the same source. Part of it is written in the stumbling 
style of the forgers, and the rest of it has the pure, fluent literary 
quality which they could not successfully imitate. Verses 29 and 30, 
which are not duplicated in Matthew, seem to be a later interpola- 
tion : in the received text they do not, as here, form part of the 
speech of Iesous, and verse 31 begins with the words, "And the 
Master said" ; but here, as often, the received text has no good 
authority in the manuscripts. In place of this statement about lus- 
tration ("baptism") Matthew (xi. 12-15) has one to the effect that 
from the days of Ioannes the kingdom is obtained by the strong 
and masterful, and that Ioannes was Elijah reincarnated; but in 
Luke the "saying" about the kingdom appears, though differently 
worded, in xvi. 16, mingled with other unassorted fragments. From 
the way in which the text has been tampered with it is to be inferred 
that originally it contained some statement about Ioannes which the 
forgers deemed it expedient to suppress. Even the oldest manu- 
scripts show that in the literary labor of the improvers of the sacred 
text the erasing-knife and sponge were as necessary as the pen. 
Now, the story about Ioannes being imprisoned is a very clumsy 
forgery : although depicted as a great prophet who foretells the 
coming of Iesous and acts as his forerunner, he is here represented 
as being spiritually blind, and afflicted with doubt concerning the 
Master whom he had heralded and consecrated, and upon whom he 
had seen the spirit descend as a dove. The reason for this dispar- 
agement of Ioannes was probably that the "orthodox" forgers were 
opposing those "primitive" Christians who, having formerly been 
worshippers of the Water-God Oannes, were inclined to rank Ioan- 
nes above Iesous : in fact, there were sects that rejected Iesous and 
called themselves followers of Ioannes. 

The words of Iesous referring to Ioannes "in the desert" can not 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 725 

belong here; their only appropriate place is in the opening scene, 
when Iesous, on his way to the place where Ioannes was administer- 
ing the lustration, would naturally meet the returning "crowds" who 
had already received the rite. Again, between this speech about 
Ioannes and the ridicule of the w r ooden men of learning in the 
generative sphere there is no real connection of thought; the two 
passages are here brought into juxtaposition merely because they 
both refer to Ioannes. 

Ch. vii. 36-50 

36 Now, one of the Pharisees asked him that he would eat 
with him ; and he entered into the Pharisee's house and reclined 
[at table]. 37 And behold, a woman who was an immoral 
woman in the city, having ascertained that he was reclining [at 
table] in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of oil, 
38 and standing behind at his feet, weeping, she began to be- 
dew his feet with her tears, and she was wiping them with the 
hair of her head, and kissing them again and again, and anoint- 
ing them with the oil. 39 But when the Pharisee who had 
invited him saw it, he spoke within himself, saying: 

"This [man], if he were a seer, would have perceived who 
and of what sort the woman is who is touching him, that she 
is an immoral woman." 

40 And Iesous answered and said to him: 
"Simon, I have something to say to you." 
And he says: 

"Teacher, say it." 

41 "A certain money-lender had two debtors; the one owed 
five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they did 
not have [the money] to pay, he forgave them both. Which 
of them, then, will love him most?" 

43 Simon answered and said: 

"He, I take it, to whom he forgave the most." 

And he said to him: 

"You have decided rightly." 

44 And turning to the woman, he said to Simon: 



726 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

"Do you see this woman? I entered into your house; you 
gave me no water for my feet; but she has bedewed my feet 
with her tears, and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me 
no kiss; but she, from the time I came in, has not ceased from 
passionately kissing my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head 
with oil; but she has anointed my feet with fragrant oil. 47 
For which cause I say to you, Her sins, which are many, are 
remitted; for she loved much. But [he] to whom little is re- 
mitted loves little." 

48 And to her he said : 
"Your sins are remitted." 

49 And those reclining with [him at table] began to say within 
themselves : 

"Who is this who even remits sins?" 

50 But he said to the woman : 

"Your faith has saved you; go in peace." 

COMMENTARY ' 

This story of the fallen woman who anointed Iesous is not only 
far more beautiful than that which is found in the other Gospels, 
but is also a correct allegory. Mariam, the temple-woman, anoints 
the feet, not the head, of the Master. In Mark and Matthezv the 
incident (which properly takes place at the banquet in the house 
of Simon the disciple) is converted into an ante-mortem anointing 
of the body of Iesous; and in that repulsive form the story almost 
immediately precedes the account of the crucifixion. To embalm 
a man, even allegorically, before he is dead, is not a pleasing notion. 
The woman is called in Luke a "sinneress," as it is quaintly ren- 
dered in WyclifTe's version, and a harsher word might have been 
used, as in Matthew xxi. 31. The moral of the story is that she 
was saved by love ; but the forgers have not neglected to bring in a 
reference to their favorite doctrine of salvation by "faith," even 
though it jars with the context. Simon, however, is only disguised 
as a "Pharisee" here, and is not a "leper" as he is in the other 
version; for Iesous would hardly have reproached a leper for not 
having given him a kiss ! 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 727 

Chapter viii. 1-3 

1 And it befell subsequently that he journeyed through from 
city to city, and from village to village, proclaiming and announcing 
as good tidings the kingdom of God; and with him [went] the 
twelve 2 and certain women who had been healed of wicked ghosts 
and infirmities : Mariam the so-called "temple-woman," from whom 
seven ghosts had gone out, 3 Ioanna, the wife of Chouzas, a 
steward of Herod, and Sousanna, and many others, who supplied 
them [with the means of living] from their property. 

COMMENTARY 

These "historical" details are recorded only by the compiler of 
Luke. No other historian has mentioned the charitable Ioanna and 
Sousanna, and the other female disciples who had been healed of 
wicked ghosts. Even Chouzas is elsewhere unknown. 

Ch. viii. 4-18 

4 And when a great crowd came together, and the [inhabi- 
tants] from every city were going to him, he spoke by an 
allegory : 

5 "The sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed 
some [of the seed] fell beside the road, and it was trampled 
upon, and the birds of the sky ate it up; 6 and other fell on 
the rock, and when it had sprouted it withered away, because 
it had no moisture; 7 and other fell in the midst of thorns, 
and the thorns sprouted with it, and choked it; 8 and other 
fell into the good soil, and sprouted, and produced fruit a hun- 
dredfold. ,, 

Saying these things, he cried : 

"He who has ears to hear, let him hear." 

9 But his disciples put a question to him, [[saying]] : 
"What may be [the meaning of] this allegory?" 

10 And he said: 

"It has been permitted you to know the mystery of the king- 
dom of God; but to the rest [the subject is couched] in alle- 



728 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

gories, that 'seeing, they may not see, and hearing, they may not 
understand.' n Now, this is [the meaning of] the allegory: The 
seed is the arcane doctrine of God. 12 And the [seeds] beside the 
road are the hearers [of it] ; then comes the Accuser, and takes 
away the arcane doctrine from their heart, that they may not be- 
lieve and be saved. 13 And the [seeds] on the rock[[s]] are those 
who, when they have heard [it], receive with joy the arcane doc- 
trine; and these have no root, who for a season believe, and in a 
season of temptation fall away. 14 And that which fell among the 
thorns, these are they who have heard, and as they go along they 
are choked with life's cares and wealth and pleasures, and do not 
bring fruit to perfection. 15 And that in the good soil, these are 
they who in a noble and good heart having heard the arcane doc- 
trine, retain it, and bring forth fruit with perseverance. 

16 "And no one, when he has lighted a lamp, covers it with 
a vessel, or puts it under a bed ; but he puts it on a lampstand, 
that they who enter may see its light. 17 For there is nothing 
concealed that shall not become manifest, nor [anything] ob- 
scure that shall not be known and come to manifestation. 18 
Beware, then, how you hear: for [truth] shall be given to him 
who has [it], but even that which he pretends he has shall be 
taken away from him who has it not." 

COMMENTARY 

The allegory of the sower is here given in a condensed form, and 
reads like a parody, so badly is it written. The pseudo-interpreta- 
tion of it is likewise abridged; the compiler apparently entertained 
doubts as to its accuracy, for he has appended to it three genuine 
"sayings" which he supposed to be applicable to the subject. But 
the "sayings" do not apply; on the contrary, the concealed meaning 
of the allegory is somewhat like a lamp under a vessel, and it cer- 
tainly was not perceived by the exegetist who marred the text with 
this stupid "explanation." According to him, the seeds are the 
divine doctrines, but at the same time they are the hearers of those 
doctrines ; the "rock" and the thorns on and among which the seeds 
(the doctrines and the hearers) are sown represent temptations, 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 729 

cares and riches. But, even overlooking these muddled details, the 
explanation does not even touch upon the true inner meaning of the 
allegory, which relates to the action of the intuitive mind, the Nous, 
upon the lower intellect. If it is understood that the seeds are the 
doctrines, and the soil the hearers, the rendering is merely exoteric 
and of no real value. Wisdom comes from within, not from 
without. 

Ch. viii. 19-21 

19 And his mother and brothers tried to come to him, but could 
not get to him because of the crowd. 20 And it was reported to 
him: 

"Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wishing 
to see you." 

21 But he answered and said to them: 

"My mother and my brothers are these [disciples] who are lis- 
tening to the arcane doctrine of God and practising it." 

COMMENTARY 

This story, as here told, is toned down and presents Iesous in 
a more favorable light than it does in Mark and Matthew. The 
mother and brothers of Iesous are unable to get to him, and he does 
not ask, dramatically, who they are. It is even left to be inferred 
that he graciously consents to see them. Yet his words certainly 
give little countenance to Mariolatry. 

Ch. viii. 22-39 

22 And it befell on one of those days that he entered into 
[the] ship, himself and his disciples; and he said to them: 

"Let us go over to the other side of the lake." 

And they put out [to sea]. 23 And as they sailed he fell 

asleep. And a violent wind-storm came down on the lake, and 

they were being completely filled [with water], and were in 

danger. 24 And they came to him and awakened him, saying : 

"Captain, captain, we are perishing!" 



730 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

And he awoke, and reprimanded the wind and the surge of 
the water; and they ceased, and there befell a calm. 25 And 
he said to them : 

"Where is your faith?" 

And being afraid, they wondered, saying: 

"Who then is this, that he gives orders even to the winds and 
the water, and they obey him?" 

26 And they put into port in the country of the Gerasenes, 
which is on the opposite side from Galilee. 27 And when he 
had come forth upon the land, there met him a certain man out 
of the city, who was possessed by ghosts ; and for a considerable 
time he had worn no clothes, and was not dwelling in a house, 
but in the tombs. 28 And when he saw Iesous he cried out, 
and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said: 

"What matters it to you and to me, Iesous, Son of the high- 
est God? I beg you, do not torment me." 

29 For he was commanding the unclean spirit to come out 
from the man. For many times it had forcibly carried him off, 
and he was kept [under restraint], and bound with chains and 
fetters; and yet, breaking the bonds, he was driven by the 
ghost[[s]] into the deserts. 30 And Iesous asked him: 

"What is your name?" 

And he said: 

"Legion." 

For many ghosts had entered into him. 31 And they kept 
imploring him that he would not enjoin them to go away into 
the abyss. 32 Now, there was a herd of many swine feeding on 
the mountain; and [the ghosts] implored him that he would 
permit them to enter into those. And he permitted them; 33 
and the ghosts came put of the man and went into the swine, 
and the herd rushed down the precipitous slope into the lake, 
and were choked. 34 And when the herdsmen saw the occur- 
rence, they fled, and [ [went away and] ] reported it in the city 
and in the country. 35 And they went out to see what had 
taken place ; and they came to Iesous, and found the man from 
whom the ghosts had gone out sitting, clothed and restored 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 731 

to his senses, at the feet of Iesous, and they were afraid. 36 
And the spectators reported to them how the spirit-possessed 
man had been saved. 37 And all the multitudes of the country 
circumjacent to the Gerasenes begged him to depart from them, 
for they were oppressed with great fear. And he entered into 
the ship and returned. 38 And the man from whom the ghosts 
had gone forth kept begging him to be [taken] with him; but 
[[Iesous]] sent him away, saying: 

39 "Return to your house, and relate all the things God has done 
for you." 

And he departed, proclaiming through the whole city all the 
things Iesous had done for him. 

COMMENTARY 

Here the text of Luke follows that of Mark, while that of Mat- 
thew is condensed, though providing more commodious quarters 
for the spirits. A legion of ghosts, if recruited to the full strength 
of a legion of Roman soldiers, would amount to nearly seven thou- 
sand, being a thousand times as many as were said to have gone out 
from Mariam the temple-woman. It would seem that the compiler 
of Matthew, doubting that one man could accommodate so many, 
tried to make the story more plausible by furnishing an extra man ; 
he also avoids giving the number of spirits, confining himself to the 
statement that Iesous met two men possessed by ghosts. But this 
can not mean that there were only two ghosts, for there were "many 
swine" in the herd. Again, in Mark the story begins with but one 
ghost, and though in Luke it starts correctly with the plural number 
it lapses into "the ghost" that drives the man into the desert; while 
both these historical authorities agree that Iesous — apparently in 
ignorance of the fact that he had to deal with a legion of spooks 
— commanded "the unclean spirit" to come out of the man. 

Ch. viii. 40-56 

40 And when Iesous returned, the crowd welcomed him, for 
they were all looking for him. 41 And behold, there came a 
man whose name was Iaeiros, and he was a ruler of the syna- 



j$2 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

gogue; and he fell at the feet of Iesous, and implored him to 
come to his house, 42 because he had an only-born daughter, 
about twelve years old, and she was dying. And as he was 
going, the crowds pressed upon him. 43 And a woman who for 
twelve years had an issue of blood, who [[had lavished her 
whole living on physicians, and]] could not be healed by any 
one, 44 came behind him, and touched the hem of his mantle ; 
and forthwith the issue of her blood stopped. 45 And Iesous 
said: 

"Who is he who was touching me?" 

And when all were denying it, Petros said, [ [and those with 
him] ] : 

"Captain, the crowds press upon you and jostle you, and say 
you, 'Who is he who was touching me?' " 

46 But Iesous said: 

"Some one did touch me; for I perceived that a force had 
gone forth from me." 

47 And when the woman saw that she had not escaped de- 
tection, trembling she came, and fell down before him, and de- 
clared to him before all the people for what cause she had 
touched him, and how she was healed forthwith. 48 And he 
said to her: 

"Daughter [[take courage]], your faith has saved you; go 
in peace." 

49 While he is yet speaking, comes one from the synagogue- 
ruler's [house], saying: 

"Your daughter is dead; do not trouble the Teacher." 

50 But Iesous, having heard it, answered him: 
"Fear not; only believe, and she shall be saved." 

5 1 And having come to the house, he did not permit any one 
to enter in with him, except Petros, and Ioannes, and Iakobos, 
and the father of the girl, and her mother. 52 And they were 
all weeping and bewailing her. But he said: 

"Do not weep; she is not dead, but is sleeping." 

53 And they laughed at him scornfully, knowing that she was 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 733 

dead. 54 But he [[put them all outside, and]] grasped her 
hand and called [her], saying: 

"Girl, awake." 

55 And her spirit returned to her, and she arose forthwith; 
and he directed that [something] should be given her to eat. 
56 And her parents were astounded; but he charged them to 
tell no one of what had taken place. 

COMMENTARY 

The words "had lavished her whole living on physicians," in 
verse 43, are undoubtedly an interpolation. The fact that Luke does 
not make this statement has been advanced as evidence that the au- 
thor of the Gospel was "Luke, the beloved physician," mentioned in 
Colossians iv. 14, on the theory that a physician would not allude 
to the members of his profession in the disrespectful way that Mark 
does. Be that as it may, still this story was copied from Mark, and 
so the interpolator has only restored what the compiler of Luke saw 
fit to leave out. If the compiler had been a physician, he would 
naturally have named the disease of which the "only" daughter was 
dying; and as a physician he would not have been so partial to 
small families. It is only in Luke that the daughter of Iaeiros is 
monogencs, as also the widow's son and the epileptic boy. It is in the 
Fourth Gospel alone that Iesous is called mono genes; but while he 
was the "only Son" of his Father, his mother bore many sons and 
daughters to her mortal husband, Ioseph. 

Chapter ix. 1-6 

1 And he called together [[his]] twelve [[disciples]], and 
gave them power and authority over all the ghosts, and to heal 
diseases. 2 And he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of 
God, and to heal [[the infirm]]. 3 And he said to them: 

"Take nothing for the road, neither staff, nor provision-bag, 
nor bread, nor money; neither have two tunics. 4 And into 
whatever house you enter, stay there, and go forth from there. 
5 And as many as do not receive you, when you go forth from 



734 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

that city, shake off the dust from your feet for a testimony 
against them." 

6 And they passed along through the villages, proclaiming 
the good tidings, and healing everywhere. 

COMMENTARY 

The "twelve" here should be the "seventy-two." The twelve 
Companions of the Sun, the zodiacal constellations, are always with 
him as he makes the circuit of the heavens. But as anthropomor- 
phized "disciples" it became an "historical" necessity for them to 
do duty as missionaries ; the historian has therefore severed this pas- 
sage from the account (beginning at x. i) of the sending out of 
the seventy-two, and has applied it to the twelve. It has been further 
separated from its true place in the narrative by the insertion of 
forgeries and dislocated matter in the gap made when the manu- 
script was severed. 

Ch. ix. 7-9 

7 And Herod the tetrarch heard of all the things taking place 
[ [through him] ] ; and he was utterly bewildered, because it was 
said by some, "Ioannes has been raised from the dead," 8 and by 
others, "Elijah has appeared," and by others, "A certain prophet, 
[one of the prophets] of old, has risen [from the dead]." 9 And 
Herod said: 

"I beheaded Ioannes ; but who is this about whom I keep hearing 
such things ?" 

And he sought to see him. 

COMMENTARY 

Although in this portion of his "history" the compiler of Luke 
has been following Mark, he omits the implausible story of Herod's 
banquet, of which Matthezv gives an abridged version. Then, after 
giving the incident of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, 
as in Mark, the compiler of Luke rejects the whole of the spurious 
matter found in Mark vi. 45-viii. 26 (which is reproduced in Mat- 
thezv) and again begins to follow the text of Mark at viii. 27. Now, 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 735 

Mark is the shortest of the three Synoptics, and this extensive inter- 
polation, composed almost wholly of garbled repetitions of preced- 
ing stories, was obviously inserted merely to lengthen it; but the 
compiler of Luke could afford to reject this padding, since he had 
come into the possession of additional notes of the Mystery-drama, 
and these he has inserted in the so-called periscope, ix. 51-xviii. 14: 
with so much new material, he needed space, not padding, and so 
he threw out the spurious matter with which Mark had been padded. 

Ch. ix. 10-17 

10 And the apostles, when they had returned, related to him 
all the things they had done. And he took them and retired 
apart [[into a desert place]] to a city called Bethsaida. 11 
But the crowds, having perceived it, followed him ; and he wel- 
comed them, and spoke to them concerning the kingdom of 
God, and he cured those who had need of curing. 12 And the 
day began to decline; and the twelve came, and said to him: 

"Dismiss the crowd, that they may go into the villages and 
country round about, and lodge, and procure provisions; for 
we are here in a desert place." 

13 But he said to them: 

"Do you give them [something] to eat." 

And they said : 

"We have no more than five loaves and two fishes; unless 
indeed we should go and buy food for all this [throng of] 
people." 

14 For there were about five thousand men. But he said to 
his disciples : 

"Make them recline in companies, about fifty each." 

15 And they did so, and made them all recline, 16 and he 
took the five loaves and the two fishes, and having looked up 
to the sky, he blessed them and broke [them] in pieces, and 
gave [them] to his disciples to set before the crowd. 17 And 
they all ate, and were all satisfied ; and there was taken up that 
which was superfluous to them, twelve hand-baskets [full]. 



736 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

The "apostles" are the seventy-two, and the picnic' takes place 
before, not after, their return. According to Mark (vi. 45) Beth- 
saida was on the western shore of the sea; here it is on the eastern 
shore, and is apparently a deserted village, having no inhabitants; 
for, although it is called a "city," it is also referred to as "a desert 
place" where food and lodging could "not be obtained. 

Ch. ix. 18-36 

18 And it befell that as he was praying alone, his disciples were 
with him; and he asked them, saying: 

"Who do the crowds say that I am ?" 

19 And they, answering, said: 

"Ioannes the Lustrator; but others [say], Elijah; and others, 
that a certain prophet of those of old has risen [from the dead]." 

20 And he said to them : 

"But who do you say that I am?" 
And Petros, answering, said : 
"The Anointed of God." 

21 But he strictly enjoined them, and charged [them] to tell 
this to no one, 22 saying : 

"It is inevitable for the Son of man to suffer many things, 
and be rejected by the elders and chief-priests and scribes, and 
be killed, and on the third day be raised up." 

23 And he said to all: 

"If any one wishes to come after me, let him utterly deny 
himself, and take up his cross [[daily]] and go along with me. 
24 For whoever desires to save his soul shall lose it; but who- 
ever shall lose his soul for the sake of me, he shall save it. 25 
For what is a man profited, if he gain the whole world, and 
lose or forfeit his own self? 26 For whoever shall be ashamed 
of me and of my arcane doctrines, of him the Son of man shall 
be ashamed when he comes in the glory of himself and of the 
Father and of the holy Divinities. 27 But I say to you truly. 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 737 

There are some of the bystanders here who shall not at all 
taste death until they see the kingdom of God." 

28 And it befell, about eight days after [he had taught] these 
arcane doctrines, that he took Petros and Ioannes and Iakobos, 
and went up into the mountain to pray. 29 And it befell that, 
as he was praying, the appearance of his face was altered, and 
his clothing [became] white, emitting flashes like lightning. 
30 And behold, two men were talking with him, who were 
Moses and Elijah, 31 who appeared in a glory, and spoke of 
his [tragic] end, which he was about to realize at Jerusalem. 
2,2 Now, Petros and those who were with him were weighed 
down with sleep, but they kept awake, and saw his glory and 
the two men who stood with him. 33 And it befell that as these 
[men] w^re departing from him, Petros said to Iesous: 

"Captain, it is good for us to be here ; and let us make three 
dwelling-places, one for you, and one for Moses, and one for 
Elijah" — not knowing what he is saying. 

34 And while he was saying these things, there came up a 
cloud, and overshadowed them; and they feared as they entered 
into the cloud. 35 And a voice issued from the cloud, saying: 

"This is my Son who has been singled out; hear ye him." 

36 And when the voice had sounded, Iesous was found alone. 
And they kept silence, and reported to no one in those days any 
of the things which they had seen. 

COMMENTARY 

The transfiguration, as an event in the allegory, should take place 
on the seventh day of the journey to the sacred city. In Mark and 
Matthew the words used are, "after six days," and as the story is 
dislocated, this apparently refers to the preceding prediction of the 
crucifixion; hence the erroneous statement in Luke that it was 
"about eight days" after Iesous had uttered the "sayings," or doc- 
trines. It is only in Luke that the disciples are said to have become 
drowsy: the compiler added this feature in imitation of the scene 
in the enclosure of Gethsemane. Here, however, it is pointless. 



738 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Ch. ix. 37-45 

37 And it befell on the next day, on their having come down from 
the mountain, that a great crowd met him. 38 And behold, a man 
from the crowd cried, saying : 

"Teacher, I implore you to look upon my son, for he is my only- 
born : 39 and behold, a spirit possesses him, and on a sudden he 
cries out, and it throws him into convulsions, with froth, and with 
difficulty it departs from him, breaking him all up. 40 And I 
begged your disciples, that they should cast it out, and they were 
not able." 

41 And Iesous answered and said: 

"O unbelieving and perverted age, until when shall I be with you, 
and endure you? Bring your son here." 

42 And as he was yet coming to [Iesous], the ghost broke 
through him, and threw [him] into convulsions. But Iesous repri- 
manded the unclean spirit, and healed the boy, and gave him back 
to his father. 43 And they were all astounded at the magnificence 
of God. 

But while all were wondering at the things which he did, he said 
to his disciples : 

44 "Get these words into your ears : for the Son of man is about 
to be handed over into the hands of men." 

45 But they were ignorant of this saying, and it was veiled 
from them, that they should not apprehend it; and they were afraid 
to ask him about this saying. 

COMMENTARY 

One may well be astonished, not at the "magnificence"- of God, 
but at the fatuity of the forgers who incorporated these wretchedly 
written stories in the text. Here a case of epilepsy is regarded as 
due to spirit-possession; the disciples lack faith and the power to 
heal ; and Iesous is as petulant as an undisciplined child. For the 
second time the disciples are told that Iesous will be betrayed, yet, 
even as when for a third time it is dinned into their ears, it fails to 
penetrate to their understanding, and they have not the manliness 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 739 

to ask for a clearer statement of it. Although Iesous, in language 
more forcible than elegant, tries to impress it upon them, their 
ignorance is invulnerable. 

Ch. ix. 46-50 

46 And there came up a discussion among them, namely, 
which of them was the more mature. 47 But when Iesous saw 
the discussion [coming from] their heart, he took a little child, 
and set it beside him, 48 and said to them: 

"Whoever shall receive this little child in my name receives 
me; and whoever receives me receives him who sent me: for 
he who is a minor among you all, he is an adult." 

49 And Ioannes answered and said: 

"Captain, we saw a [healer] casting out ghosts in your name, 
and we restrained him, because he does not go along after us." 

50 But Iesous said to him: 

"Do not restrain him: for he who is not against you is for 
you." 

COMMENTARY 

In Mark this story of the independent healer is correctly con- 
nected with the preceding one, in which Iesous takes the child as 
his text, by the words (ix. 42), "these little ones that believe in me" : 
that is, men who, like the healer spoken of by Ioannes, are doing 
the Master's work in his name, though independently, are regarded 
as children of the kingdom. But the discourse upon this subject no 
doubt inculcated a doctrine of tolerance which the priestly forgers 
refused to endorse ; for they have piously mutilated the story, trans- 
ferring part of it to a place further on in the text, and adding to 
Mark and Matthew some of the most offensive forgeries that pro- 
fane their pages. Thus Mark ix. 43-x. 12, which reads as if writ- 
ten by some monk or priest fanatical to the point of insanity, is 
immediately preceded and followed by exquisitely beautiful and 
tender discourses on the subject of little children, to whom aspirants 
for the kingdom are likened. In Matthew the same lucubrations, 
somewhat toned down, have been placed between the severed por- 



740 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

tions of the story, together with the parable of the lost sheep (the 
parable itself being here an estray), a law of church discipline, and 
the nonsensical "parable" of the talents. But in Luke the subject of 
the little children is not resumed until xviii. 15: new material 
amounting to about nine chapters, according to the present division 
of the text, has been added. This is approximately a third of Luke, 
and it is more than half as long as Mark. This section of Luke has 
been called the "periscope," or comprehensive summary, though in 
fact it is nothing of the sort : it is a collection of stories and dis- 
courses, which are loosely strung together with hardly a pretence 
of orderly arrangement. It is clear that the compiler had in his 
possession, besides the text of Mark, a number of stray notes which 
he was unable to fit into the narrative, and that, having combined 
them to the best of his limited ability, he made an insert of them at 
this place where the text of Mark had already been severed to admit 
an interpolation. Most of the matter peculiar to Luke (barring the 
first two chapters and the conclusion in the last chapter, which are 
wholly spurious) is contained in this so-called periscope; and though 
some of the "sayings" it contains are to be found also in Matthew, 
it has but a few sentences that are duplicated in Mark, and these, 
as shown by differences in the wording, were probably not taken 
from the latter Gospel. 

Ch. ix. 51-56 

51 And it befell that, when the days for his resumption [of 
Godhood] were coming to the full, he steadfastly set his face 
to go to Jerusalem, 52 and sent messengers before his face; 
and they went and entered into a village of the Samaritans, to 
make ready for him. 53 And [the villagers] did not receive 
him, because his face was [set for his] going to Jerusalem. 54 
And when his disciples Iakobos and Ioannes saw [their inhos- 
pitality], they said: 

"Master, do you wish [that] we should call fire to come down 
from the sky, and consume them, [[even as Elijah did]]?" 

55 But he turned and reprimanded them, [[and said: 

"You do not know of what sort of spirit you are. 56 For the 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 741 

Son of man did not come to destroy the souls of men, but to save 
them]]." 

And they went to another village. 

COMMENTARY 

Here the periscope begins. Iesous starts on his last journey, and 
the day of his crucifixion has drawn near; yet after he has begun 
the journey he sends out the seventy-two disciples (x. 1) and later 
on receives their report. According to Mark (vi. 7, in which the 
twelve are dishonestly substituted for the seventy-two) he sent 
them out before the picnic at which the loaves and fishes were 
multiplied. If Luke is to be believed, either Iesous was travelling 
in very leisurely fashion, or the disciples made but a very short 
missionary tour. 

Ch. ix. 57-62 

57 And as they were going on the road, some one said to 
him: 

"I will follow you wherever you go." 

58 And Iesous said to him: 

"The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky [have] roosts; 
but the Son of man has not where to lay his head." 

59 And he said to another: 
"Follow me." 

But he said: 

"Master, allow me to go and bury my father." 

60 But he said to him: 

"Leave the 'dead' to bury their own dead; but go you and 
declare the kingdom of God." 

61 And another also said: 

"I will follow you, Master; but first allow me to bid farewell 
to those at my house." 

62 But Iesous said to him: 

"No one who has laid his hand on the plow, and [yet] keeps 
looking at the things that are behind, is adapted for the king- 
dom of God." 



742 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

Here, as frequently, Luke has matter that is found also in Mat- 
thew but not in Mark. There are, however, variations in the word- 
ing, omissions, dislocations and other peculiarities which go to show 
that neither of the compilers copied, or had even seen, the work 
of the other. Presumably they both had additional notes of the 
Mystery-drama, each set of notes only partly duplicating the other 
set; for each of these Gospels contains valuable material which the 
other lacks. 

Chapter x. 1-16 

i Now, after these things the Master consecrated seventy- 
two others, and sent them two by two before his face into every 
city and place where he himself was about to come. 2 And he 
said to them: 

"The harvest indeed is heavy, but the laborers are few; there- 
fore supplicate the Master of the harvest, that he may send out 
laborers to his harvest. 3 Go [on your mission] ; behold, I am 
sending you forth as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 Carry 
no purse, no provision-bag, no sandals; and salute no one on 
the road. 5 And into whatever house you may enter first, say, 
'Peace to this house.' 6 And if a son of peace be there, your 
peace shall rest upon it; but if not, it shall return to you. 7 
And in that same house abide, eating and drinking the things 
[provided] by them; for the laborer is worthy of his hire. Do 
not go from house to house. ... 8 And into whatever city 
you may enter, and they receive you, eat the things set before 
you, 9 and heal those in it who are ill, and say to them, 'The 
kingdom of God has drawn near to you/ 10 But into whatever 
city you may enter, and they do not receive you, go out into 
its streets and say, 1 1 'Even the dust from your city adhering 
to our feet we wipe off against you; yet know this, that the 
kingdom of God has drawn near [ [to you] ].' 12 I say to you, 
It shall be more endurable in that day for Sodom than for that city! 
13 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! For if 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 743 

the magic feats which have been performed in you had been per- 
formed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, 
sitting in sackcloth and ashes. 14 Yet it shall be more endurable 
for Tyre and Sidon, in the judgment, than for you. 15 And shalt 
thou, Kapernaum, e be exalted to heaven' '? Thou 'shalt go down 
to the underworld ' 16 He who hears you hears me; and he who 
rejects me rejects him who sent me." 

COMMENTARY 

The compiler of Mark eliminated the seventy-two ; but the com- 
piler of Luke, finding the seventy-two in the notes which he incor- 
porated in the text, reinstated the discarded "messengers," though 
not according them their true place in the narrative. He has merely 
inserted, among the odds and ends of which the periscope is com- 
posed, the story of the sending forth and return of the seventy-two 
"apostles" ; but by so doing he has betrayed the dishonest artifice 
of the compiler of Mark. In ix. 1-6, 10 he has copied from the text 
of Mark, erroneously giving to the twelve the instructions that 
should be addressed to the seventy-two, but has made an attempt to 
straighten out the tangle by omitting the second missionary tour. 
Here, however, he gives the correct version, derived from a purer 
source. The tirade against the unrepentant cities is here made a 
part of the discourse of Iesous to the seventy-two. It is dislocated 
in Matthew (xi. 20), where it is addressed to the "crowds" on a 
different occasion. 

Ch. x. 17-20 

17 And the seventy- two returned with joy, saying: 
"Master, even the Genii are subject to us in your name." 

18 And he said to them: 

"I was beholding the Adversary falling like lightning from 
the sky. 19 Behold, I have given you power ( to zvalk over 
snakes' and scorpions, and against all the magic art of the 
Enemy; and nothing shall at all injure you. 20 Yet do not 
rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you; but rejoice 
that your names are written in the skies." 



744 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

Here Iesous himself testifies that the seventy-two messengers 
have their names inscribed on the starry vault. No better evidence 
of their stellar character need be required. In verse 17 the word 
daimonia seems to have its usual "pagan" signification, applying to 
the lesser Deities. 

Ch. x. 21-24 

21 In that same hour he exulted in the sacred Air, and said : 
"I praise thee, O Father, Master of the sky and the earth, that 
thou didst hide these things from the learned and the intelligent, 
and didst unveil them to infants : yea, Father, for thus it was rightly 
intended before thee. 22 All things have been handed over to me 
by my Father. And no one knows who the Son is, except the Fa- 
ther ; and who the Father is, except the Son, and he to whomsoever 
the Son is minded to unveil [him]." 

23 And turning to the disciples, he said privately: 
"Blessed [are]' the eyes which see the things which you see : 24 
for I say to you, Many prophets and kings desired to see the things 
which you see, and did not see them ; and to hear the things which 
you hear, and did not hear them." 

COMMENTARY 

It is not clear what is meant by "these things" that are hidden 
from mature and cultured minds but revealed to infants; and it is 
uncertain whether the latter word is used in its literal sense or meta- 
phorically for childish and ignorant persons. In the genuine por- 
tions of the text the state of childhood is taken as exemplifying the 
innocence and purity which are necessary qualifications in the attain- 
ment of spiritual consciousness; but here learning and intelligence 
are held to be disqualifications, and God is praised for revealing 
"these things," whatever they are, to the mindless and concealing 
them from those who have knowledge and discernment. The state- 
ment about the Father and the Son is only one of the pseudo-mysti- 
cal dogmas in which theologians delight. 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 745 

Ch. x. 25-37 

25 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up, putting him to a test, 
saying : 

"Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" 

26 And he said to him : 

"What is written in the law? How do you read it?" 

27 And he, answering, said: 

" 'Thou shalt love thy Master-God with all thy heart, and zvith 
all thy soul, and zvith all thy strength, and zvith all thy mind'; and 
[shalt love] 'thy neighbor as thyself/ " 

28 And he said to him : 

"You have answered correctly. 'Do this, and you shall live' [for- 
ever]." 

29 But he, wishing to justify himself, said to Iesous: 
"And who is my 'neighbor' ?" 

30 Replying, Iesous said : 

"A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho ; and 
he fell in with bandits, who both stripped him and inflicted wounds 
[on him], and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 And by 
chance a certain priest was going down on that road, and when he 
saw him he passed by on the opposite side. 32 And in like manner 
a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on 
the opposite side. 33 But a certain Samaritan, while travelling, 
came near him; and when he saw him, his heart was stirred, 34 
and he came to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and 
wine, and having put him on his own beast, he brought him to a 
caravansary, and took care of him. 35 And on the morrow, [[as 
he went forth]], he took out two denarii, and gave them to the 
keeper of the caravansary, and said, 'Take care of him, and what- 
ever you expend besides [this sum], I will repay you on my return.' 
36 Which of these three, in your opinion, behaved as a neighbor 
to him who fell in with the bandits ?" 

And he said : 

"He who showed compassion towards him." 



746 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

37 And Iesous said to him : 

"Go, and do you show [it] likewise." 

COMMENTARY 

In Mark (xii. 28-34) there is a discussion between Iesous and 
a scribe as to which is the chief commandment. The moral of it is 
that neighborly love is superior to ritualistic observances; but the 
moral is obscured by pious interpolations, and is wholly obliterated 
in the version of the story given in Matthew (xxii. 34-40), in which 
the "scribe" is also a "lawyer." As this story is not in Luke, it 
would seem that the compiler rejected it, and then attempted to 
improve upon it by writing this story of the good Samaritan, which 
is intended to give a concrete example of neighborly, or more 
properly brotherly, love. But, while the moral is excellent, the 
story itself will not stand close scrutiny. The Samaritan performed 
only an act of ordinary humanity, and not something heroic or self- 
sacrificing. The story libels the Jewish priests and Levites, and by 
implication even casts a slur upon the Samaritans as a people ; and 
the words addressed to the lawyer, exhorting him to be as humane 
as the Samaritan, carry with them the insinuation that possibly he 
was as hard-hearted as were the priest and the Levite who figure 
in this rather cynical story. 

Ch. x. 38-42 

38 Now, as they journeyed, he entered into a certain village; 
and a certain woman, Martha by name, received him into her house. 
39 And she had a sister called Mariam, who also sat down at the 
Master's feet, and was listening to his doctrine. 40 But Martha 
was distracted by much serving [of the dinner], and she came up 
to him, and said : 

"Master, does it not concern you that my sister has left me to 
serve [the dinner] alone? Speak to her, then, that she help me." 

41 But the Master answered and said to her: 

"Martha, Martha, you are worried and disturbed about many 
things. 42 But there is need of few things, or one; and Mariam 
has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her." 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 747 

COMMENTARY 

Martha is not mentioned elsewhere in the Synoptics; here she 
seems to have strayed into the text by some mistake of the compiler 
in arranging the material of the periscope. According to John she 
and Mariam were sisters of Lazaros, and it is this Mariam who 
anointed the feet of Iesous. But, no matter what she may be in 
that Gospel, Martha has no legitimate part to play in the Synoptic 
allegory, even as a Christian incarnation of Hestia, the Roman 
Vesta, Goddess of hearth and home. 

Chapter xi. 1-4 

1 And it befell, as he was praying in a certain place, that when 
he ceased one of his disciples said to him : 

"Master, teach us to pray, even as Ioannes also taught his dis- 
ciples." 

2 And he said to them: 

"When you pray, say: [[Our]] Father, [[who art in the 
skies]], consecrated be thy name; thy realm be established; 
[[thy holy Breath come to us and purify us]]; thy will be 
accomplished, [ [as in the sky, also on the earth] ] ; 3 our 
bread, destined for the morrow, bestow on us daily; 4 and 
forgive us our sins, [[for we ourselves forgive every one who 
is indebted to us]]; and carry us not into temptation, [[but 
shield us from the Evil [Genius] ]]." 

COMMENTARY 

This version of the model prayer, as compared with that in 
Matthew, is but an unmetrical fragment; and in both Gospels the 
prayer is dislocated. Here it has properly no "historical" setting; 
the statement by which it is introduced is merely a poor device of 
the compiler to connect it, however vaguely, with the narrative. 
The clauses here placed in double brackets have no good authority 
in the manuscripts, and are clearly the work of belated improvers 
of the text. 



748 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Ch. XL 5-13 

5 And he said to them : 

"Who among you shall have a friend, and shall go to him at 
midnight, and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves ; 6 for a 
friend of mine is come to me from a journey, and I have nothing 
to set before him' ; 7 and he from within should answer and say, 
'Do not put me to trouble ; already the door has been shut, and my 
children are with me in bed; I can not rise and give [the loaves] 
to you' ? 8 I say to you, Although he will not rise and give [them] 
to him because he is his friend, yet because of his cool assurance 
he will rise and give him as many as he needs. 9 And I say to you, 
Ask, and it shall be granted you; seek, and you shall find; 
knock, and it shall be opened to you. 10 For every one who 
keeps asking receives, and [every one] who keeps seeking 
finds, and to [every one] who keeps knocking it shall be opened. 
11 And of which of you who is a father shall his son ask [[a 
loaf, and he give him a stone, or]] a fish, and he instead of a 
fish give him a snake? 12 Or also he asks an egg — he will not 
give him a scorpion, will he? 13 If you, then, who are wicked, 
know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more 
shall your Father from the sky give the sacred Air to those 
who keep asking him?" 

COMMENTARY 

This discourse appended to "the Lord's prayer" is homely to the 
point of coarseness. The prayer itself, as found in Matthew, is 
mystical, referring to the "bread of life." Mere verbal petitions, 
addressed to an anthropomorphic God in the hope of receiving ma- 
terial benefits, are not the asking intended in that noble petition, 
which is recommended to all disciples seeking the divine kingdom. 
They alone can comprehend fully its spiritual meaning. 

Ch. xi. 14-28 

14 And he was casting out a ghost [[and it was]] dumb. 
And it befell that when the ghost had gone out the dumb 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 749 

man spoke; and the crowds wondered. 15 But some of them 
said : 

"By Beelzeboul, the king of the ghosts, he is casting out the 
ghosts." 

(16 And others, putting [him] to a test, were seeking from 
him a sign from the sky.) 17 But he, knowing their thoughts, 
said to them: 

"Every kingdom divided against itself is devastated, and 
house falls upon house. 18 And if the Adversary is divided 
against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? Because you 
say that I am casting out ghosts by Beelzeboul. 19 And if I 
by Beelzeboul am casting out ghosts, by whom do your sons 
cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. 20 But 
if I by the finger of God am casting out ghosts, then the king- 
dom of God has taken you unawares. 21 When the strong 
[warrior], heavily armed, is guarding his own mansion, his 
belongings are in peace ; 22 but whenever one who is stronger 
than he shall come upon and conquer him, he takes away from 
him his panoply in which he had trusted, and distributes his 
spoils. 23 He who is not with me is against me; and he who 
does not join with me dissipates [his forces]. 24 The unclean 
spirit, when it has gone out from the man, wanders about in 
waterless places, seeking respite [from its torments], and find- 
ing no [respite], it says, 'I shall return to my house whence I 
came out'; 25 and when it comes it finds it swept and deco- 
rated. 26 Then it goes and takes [with itself] seven other 
spirits more wicked than itself, and they enter in and dwell 
there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the 
first." 

27 And it befell that as he said these things a certain woman 
from the crowd lifted up her voice, and said to him: 

"Blessed is the belly that carried you, and the breasts which you 
sucked!" 

28 But he said : 

"Yea, rather, blessed are they who hear the doctrine of God, and 
observe it." 



750 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

The historian, recording events which were fully established on 
the testimony of eye-witnesses, has endeavored to be scrupulously 
exact in referring to places and persons : a certain woman, a certain 
man, a certain centurion, or a certain lawyer, does or says some- 
thing at a certain city, a certain village, or a certain place. But it 
would take more faith than would-be needed for the removal of a 
chain of mountains to believe that the interchange of platitudes be- 
tween Iesous and a certain (vulgar) woman was recorded by the 
same pen that wrote the superb allegory of the panoplied warrior 
and the graphic story of the haunting spirit. 

Ch. xi. 29-36 

29 And when the crowds were thronging to [him], he began 
to say: 

"This age is a wicked age : it keeps seeking after a sign ; and 
no sign shall be given it except the sign of Jonah. 30 For even 
as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so shall also the Son 
of man be [a sign] to this age. 31 The queen of the south shall 
rise up in the judgment with the men of this age, and shall condemn 
them : for she came from the ends of the earth to hear Solomon's 
philosophy; and behold, something more than Solomon is here. 32 
The men of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgment with this age, 
and shall condemn it: for they reformed at the proclamation of 
Jonah; and behold, something more than Jonah is here. 

33 "No one, when he has lighted a lamp, puts it in a vault, 
nor under the grain-measure, but on the lampstand, that they 
who enter may see its light. 34 The lamp of your body is your 
eye: when your eye is single, your whole body is illuminated; 
but when it is unsound, your [whole] body also is dark. 35 
Look to it, then, lest the light which is in you is darkness. 36 
If, therefore, your whole body is illuminated, having no part 
dark, it shall be all illuminated, as when the lamp with its efful- 
gence affords you light." 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 751 

COMMENTARY 

The simile of the lamp is found also in viii. 16, where it occupies 
the same position in the text that it does in Mark. Here the com- 
piler, working in additional notes, which, as in the incident of the 
sending forth of the seventy-two messengers, overlapped the text 
of Mark in places, has inadvertently repeated the "saying." The 
compiler of Matthew, embarrassed by an even greater wealth of 
material, has in the same way made many repetitions. It may be 
urged, in excuse of the slipshod work of these "historians," that 
they were literary amateurs, unused to the critical labor of collating 
manuscripts. 

Ch. xi. 37-54 

37 Now, as he spoke, a Pharisee asked him that he would break- 
fast with him; and he entered, and reclined [at table]. 38 But the 
Pharisee, seeing it, wondered that he had not first washed himself 
before breakfast. 39 And the Master said to him : 

"Now you, the Pharisees, cleanse the outside of the cup and 
of the dish, but the inside of you is full of rapacity and wicked- 
ness. 40 You fools, did not he who made the outside make 
the inside also? 41 But give the things which are within [the 
cup and the dish] as alms — and behold, all things are clean to 
you ! 

42 "But woe to you, Pharisees ! For you pay tithes of mint 
and rue and every herb, and disregard the judgment and the 
love of God ; but these things you ought to have done, and not 
to have disregarded those. 43 Woe to you, Pharisees ! For 
you love the front seats in the synagogues, and the salutations 
in the market-places. 44 Woe to you ! For you are like indis- 
tinct monuments, and the men who walk over [their ruins] do 
not know it." 

45 And one of the lawyers, answering, says to him : 
"Teacher, in saying these things you are affronting us also." 

46 And he said: 

"Woe to you, lawyers, also ! For you load men with burdens 



7S 2 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

grievous to be borne, and you yourselves do not touch the bur- 
dens with one of your ringers. 47 Woe to you ! For you build 
the monuments of the seers — and your fathers killed them! 
48 Therefore you are witnesses and accessories to the works 
of your fathers: for they killed them, and you build [[their 
monuments]]. 49 For this reason the Knowledge of God said, 
'I will send them prophets and messengers, and some of them 
they will kill and drive away, 50 that the blood of all the 
prophets, which has been poured out from the beginning of 
the world, may be exacted of this age, 51 from the blood of 
Abel to the blood of Zachariah, who perished between the altar 
and the house.' Aye, I say to you, It shall be exacted of this 
age. 52 Woe to you, lawyers! For you took away the key of 
the Gnosis: you yourselves did not enter in, and those who 
were about to enter in you prevented." 

53 And when he had come out from there, the scribes and the 
Pharisees began to be terribly exasperated against him, and to draw 
him into making hasty statements about more things ; 54 lying in 
ambush for him, to catch something out of his mouth, that they 
might prefer charges against him. 

COMMENTARY 

In verse 39 the Pharisees are confused with the cup and the dish ; 
and verse 41 is obscurely worded, owing to a lacuna, but becomes 
clear when the words "the cup and the dish" are supplied, and it 
then takes a sarcastic sense, though it is not a particularly brilliant 
remark. Verse 40 is a theological platitude. 

The prophecy (verse 49) credited to God's Knowledge (or pos- 
sibly to a real or an imaginary book so entitled) is recorded in Mat- 
thew (xxiii. 34) as an original statement made by Iesous himself. 

Chapter xii. 1-12 

1 Meanwhile, when the tens of thousands of the crowd had gath- 
ered together so that they trampled on one another, he began to say 
to his disciples primarily : 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 753 

"Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 
But there is nothing closely veiled which shall not be unveiled, and 
concealed which shall not be known. 3 Wherefore whatever you 
have said in the darkness shall be heard in the light; and whatever 
you have spoken in the treasure-vaults shall be proclaimed upon 
the housetops. 4 But I say to you, my friends, Have no fear on 
account of those who kill the body, and afterward have nothing 
further that they can do. 5 But I will indicate to you whom you 
should fear: fear him who after he has killed [the body] has au- 
thority to throw [the soul] into Hinnom-valley — aye, fear him! 
6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pence? And not one of them 
is left uncared for in the presence of God. 7 But even the hairs 
of your head are numbered. Do not fear: you excel many spar- 
rows. 8 And I say to you, Every one who shall confess me before 
men, the Son of man also shall confess him before the Divinities of 
God; 9 but he who has disowned me before men shall be dis- 
owned before the Divinities of God. 10 And whoever shall speak 
a [profane] word as to the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him; 
but to him who shall speak profanely as to the sacred Air, it shall not 
be forgiven. 1 1 And when they bring you before the synagogues, 
and the magistrates, and the authorities, do not be concerned about 
how [ [or what] ] you shall speak in your defence, or what you 
shall say: 12 for the sacred Air will teach you in that very hour 
what you ought to say." 

COMMENTARY 

Hypocrisy is a concealing of vice under a false appearance of 
virtue, a veiling of one's true character; under the law of the asso- 
ciation of ideas, therefore, the compiler passes gracefully from the 
subject of hypocrisy to the "saying" about veiled mysteries and 
concealed truths. By a similar transition he reaches the subject 
of persecution and martyrdom : whoever betrays secrets or reveals 
truths is liable to be persecuted and even put to death, but the loss 
of the mortal body is less dreadful than it is to have the Devil throw 
one's immortal soul into Hinnom-valley. And so the discourse 
flows on, not incoherently, but with an admirable sequence of ideas; 



754 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

and no doubt the "tens of thousands of the crowd" who were tram- 
pling upon one another to hear these words of wisdom were, as 
usual, filled with astonishment and admiration. 

Ch. xii. 13-21 

13 And one of the crowd said to him: 

"Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me." 

14 But he said to him: 

"Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbitrator over you?" 

1 5 And to them he said : 

"Take care, and keep yourselves from covetousness : for a man's 
life is not in abundance according to his [material] possessions." 

16 And he spoke an allegory to them, saying: 

"The farm of a certain rich man was productive; 17 and he 
reasoned within himself, saying: 

" 'What shall I do, because I have not where to gather in my 
fruits?' 

18 "And he said: 

" 'This will I do : I shall pull down my granaries, and build 
greater ones ; and there I shall gather in all my grain and my goods. 
19 And I shall say to my soul, "Soul, you have many good things 
in store for many years; [[take rest, eat, drink]], rejoice." 

20 "But God said to him : 

" 'Fool, this night they demand your soul of you ; and the things 
which you have got ready — whose shall they be?' 

[[21 "So is he who stores up treasure for himself, and is not 
rich toward God]]." 

COMMENTARY 

A man who desires to receive his share of an inheritance is ac- 
cused of covetousness; and a prosperous farmer who rejoices over 
his abundant crops is called a fool, because he did not foreknow 
that the hand of death was soon to be laid upon him. The moral 
appended to the first story is ambiguously worded: it may mean 
that a man's life is not commensurate with his possessions, or that 
it does not consist of the abundance of his possessions, or that even 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 755 

in his abundance his life is not derived from his possessions. In 
whatever way it is understood, it is a platitude. The second story 
concludes with a question. When the farmer is dead, who shall 
receive his property? The answer would seem to be that his heirs 
will receive it. 

Ch. xii. 22-59 

22 And he said to his disciples : 

'Tor this reason I say to you, Do not concentrate your mind 
on the vital principle, what you should eat ; nor yet on the body, 
what you should put on. 23 The vital principle is more than 
the food, and the body than the raiment. 24 Consider the ra- 
vens, that they neither sow nor reap, who have no treasure- 
vault nor granary; and God feeds them. Of how much more 
value are you than the birds? 25 And which of you is able by 
mental concentration to add [[one]] cubit to his stature? 26 
If, then, you are not able [to control] even the least, why do 
you concentrate your mind on the rest? 27 Contemplate the 
lilies, how they grow: they do not toil, nor do they spin; but 
I say to you, Not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like 
one of these. 28 But if God thus arrays the herbage of the 
field, which to-day is, and to-morrow is thrown into the oven, 
how much more [shall he array] you, ye scant-faiths? 29 And 
do not seek what you shall eat, and what you shall drink; and 
yet do not be impractical. 30 For the heathens of the world 
keep seeking for all these things ; and your Father knows that 
you have need of these things. 31 But seek the kingdom [[of 
God]], and these things shall be added to you. 32 Fear not, 
little flock; for your Father has graciously consented to give 
you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions, and give alms; 
make for yourselves purses that do not grow old, an unfailing 
treasure in the skies, where no thief draws near, nor moth de- 
stroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there will be your heart 
also. 

35 "Let your loins be girdled, and your lamps burning, 36 and 
yourselves be like to men waiting for their master when he shall 



756 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

return from the wedding- feast, that when he comes and knocks, 
they may immediately open [the door] to him. 37 Blessed are 
those slaves whom the master, when he comes, shall find watching : 
amen, I say to you, He shall put on an apron, and make them recline 
[at table], and disregarding [his rank] shall wait on them. 38 
And if he comes in the second watch, and if in the third, and finds 
[them] so, blessed are those [[slaves]]. 39 But you know this, 
that if the house-lord had known in what hour the thief is coming, 
he would have watched, and not have left his house to be broken 
into. 40 And do you get ready : for at an hour when you are not 
expecting him, the Son of man is coming." 

41 And Petros said: 

"Master, are you speaking this allegory as to us, or also as to 
all?" 

42 And the Master said : 

"Who, then, is the faithful and prudent steward, whom his mas- 
ter shall set over his household, to give [the slaves] their rations 
in due season ? 43 Blessed is that slave whom his master when he 
comes shall find doing thus. 44 Truly I say to you, He will set 
him over all his possessions. 45 But if that slave should say in his 
heart, 'My master is delaying,' and should begin to beat the slave- 
boys and the slave-girls, and to eat and drink, and to get drunk, 46 
the master of that slave will come on a day in which he is not look- 
ing for [him], and at an hour when he does not know, and shall 
cut him in two, and assign his portion with the faithless. 47 But 
that slave who knew his master's will, and did not get ready, nor 
did agreeable to his will, shall be flogged with many [strokes]. 
48 But he who did not know, and did [things] worthy of strokes, 
shall be flogged with few [strokes]. And every one to whom 
much has been given, much will be required of him; and with 
whom they have deposited much, the more strictly will they 
demand [it] of him. 49 I have come to sow fire in the earth, 
and why should I desire ... if it be already kindled? 50 
But I have a lustral-rite to be lustrated with, and O how I 
am constrained till it is accomplished! 51 Do you opine that 
I have come to bestow peace in the earth? I say to you, Not 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 757 

so, but rather division: 52 for there shall be from henceforth 
five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. 
53 They shall be divided, father against son, and 'son against fa- 
ther' ; mother against daughter, and 'daughter against her mother' ; 
mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and 'daughter-in-law 
against her mother-in-law.' " 

54 And to the crowds also he said : 

"When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you 
say, *A thunder-shower is coming,' and it so befalls; 55 and 
when [you see] a south wind blowing, you say, 'There will be 
hot weather/ and it befalls. 56 Hypocrites, you know [how] 
to discern the face of the earth and the sky ; but how is it that 
you do not know how to discern this season? 57 And why 
even of yourselves do you not judge what is right? 58 For as you 
are going with the party adverse to you before the magistrate, on 
the road work busily to be rid of him, lest he should drag you away 
to the judge, and the judge should hand you over to the officer [who 
exacts dues], and the officer should throw you into prison. 59 I 
say to you, You shall not at all come out from there until you shall 
have paid the last mean little coin." 

COMMENTARY 

Some of the "sayings" which in Matthew are unskilfully worked 
into the "sermon on the mount" are in Luke tacked on to the stories 
of the "covetous" petitioner for justice and the "fool" of a farmer 
who was rich and therefore doomed to netherworld woe. The "say- 
ing" of Iesous that he came to cast fire in the earth (the verb being 
used, apparently, in the sense of sowing broadcast, as in xiii. 19) 
has no connection with the context, and it certainly should precede 
the consecration of Iesous by Ioannes. For Iesous speaks of the 
fire-lustration as something not yet begun ; and the thing he de- 
sires, but which is left unstated through a lacuna in the text, can 
only be the preliminary water-lustration. In the Apocalypse (viii. 
5, 6), after the opening of the seven seals, which corresponds to 
the water-lustration, the Divinity above the altar casts the fire of 
the altar into the earth, after which follow the seven trumpet-calls. 



758 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Nowhere in the Synoptics is it even intimated that slavery is an 
evil institution; on the contrary, it seems to be indirectly endorsed 
by the "inspired" writers, as in the story (or hybrid "parable") of 
the faithful slave who is called "blessed." In deference to modern 
abhorrence of slavery, orthodox translators invariably soften the 
word doulos to "servant," as the honest rendering "slave" would 
offend the laity. 

Even the spurious portions of these discourses are pieced to- 
gether without following any orderly train of thought, but by a 
comical association of irrelevant ideas. Thus, as the forecasting 
of the weather is a matter of judging natural phenomena, it is sup- 
posed to suggest a judge deciding a lawsuit ; so, from talking about 
weather-signs, Iesous passes on to the subject of dodging debts : 
the debtor, when sued, should exert himself to get rid of the plaintiff 
before the case reaches the judge, otherwise the unfeeling magis- 
trate and the brutal bailiff (praktor) will compel payment. This 
advice is unsound legally, and even immoral; and as it fails to 
specify how or by what means the debtor is to get rid of the ob- 
noxious creditor without paying him, it has no practical value. 

Chapter xiii. 1-9 

1 Now, there were some present at that very season who were 
telling him about the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled 
with their sacrifices. 2 And [ [Iesous] ] answered and said to them : 

"Do you suppose that these Galilaeans were sinners beyond all the 
Galilaeans, because they have suffered these things ? 3 I say to you, 
Not so ; but if you do not reform, you shall all in like manner perish. 
4 Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and 
killed them— do you suppose that they were debtors beyond all 
the men who dwell in Jerusalem? 5 I say to you, Not so; but if 
you do not reform, you shall all likewise perish." 

6 And he spoke this allegory: 

"A certain man had a fig-tree planted ; and he came looking for 
fruit on it, and did not find [any]. 7 And he said to the vine- 
dresser : 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 759 

1 'Behold, these three years I have been coming- and seeking fruit 
on this fig-tree, and do not find [any]. Cut it down. Why does it 
even render the ground unproductive ?' 
8 "But he, answering, says to him: 

' 'Master, let it alone this year also, until I shall dig about it and 
put manure; 9 and if it should bear fruit in future [it will be 
saved] ; but if not, you shall cut it down.' " 

COMMENTARY 

Josephus makes no mention of the tower in Siloam, or of Pilate's 
mingling the blood of the Galilseans with their sacrifices ; but he tells 
of the slaughter of certain turbulent Samaritans by Pilate. The 
compiler of Luke, however, having discovered these incidents that 
had escaped the notice of earlier historians, introduces them here 
very appropriately by using the word "debtors," which neatly con- 
nects the story of the eighteen upon whom the tower fell with the 
preceding remarks on the subject of dodging debts. The "allegory" 
of the barren fig-tree is so thin that its inner meaning is conspicu- 
ous ; but the wobbly construction of its concluding sentence patheti- 
cally evinces that the writer of it was yielding to brain-fag. Men- 
tal weariness may account for his referring to the pool of Siloam 
as if it were a town. 

Ch. xiii. 10-17 

10 And he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the sab- 
bath. 11 And behold, [[there was]] a woman who had a spirit 
of infirmity eighteen years; and she was bent double, and was 
utterly unable to lift herself up. 12 And when Iesous saw her, 
he called to her, and said to her : 

"Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity." 

13 And he laid his hands on her, and directly she stood upright, 
and was glorifying God. 14 But the synagogue-ruler, indignant 
because Iesous had healed [her] on the sabbath, answered and said : 

"There are six days in which men ought to work : in them, there- 
fore, come and be healed, and not on the sabbath day." 

15 And the Master answered him, and said: 



760 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

"Hypocrites ! Does not each one of you on the sabbath loose his 
ox or his ass from the manger, and having led it away give it drink ? 
1 6 And this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom the Ad- 
versary has bound, behold, eighteen years— ought she not to be 
loosed from this bond on the sabbath day?" 

17 And on his saying these things, all his opponents were 
ashamed ; and all the crowd were rejoicing at all the glorious things 
that were being done by him. 

COMMENTARY 

This story may reasonably be regarded as a modified repetition 
of the one in vi. 6-1 1. The man with the withered hand has become 
a woman doubled up with rheumatism or some other disease, which 
is not named by the beloved physician, but is vaguely attributed by 
him to spirit-agency. The stories differ also in other particulars; 
but from the general construction of the Gospel it is more than prob-, 
able that both are records of one and the same "historical" incident. 

Ch. xiii. 18-21 

18 He said, therefore : 

"To what is the kingdom of God like, and to what shall I 
liken it? 19 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man 
took and sowed in his own garden; and it grew, and became 
a [[great]] tree, and the birds 'of the sky roosted in its 
branches/ " 

20 And again he said : 

"To what shall I liken the kingdom of God ? 21 It is like leaven, 
which a woman took and hid in three measures of wheaten flour, 
till it was all leavened." 

COMMENTARY 

But for the word "therefore" (ovv) it might be supposed that 
these parables have no reference to what precedes them. How- 
ever, the sequence is easily traced : to the disciplined mind of the 
beloved physician the infirmity of the doubled-up woman suggested 
a mustard plaster; and it is an easy mental step from the concept 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 761 

of a woman wearing a mustard plaster to the parables of the mus- 
tard seed and of the woman making dough. 

Ch. xiii. 22-30 

22 And he passed through city after city, and village after vil- 
lage, teaching, and shaping his course toward Jerusalem. 23 And 
some one said to him : 

"Master, are they few who are being saved?" 

And he said to him : 

24 "Struggle to enter in through the narrow door; for many, I 
say to you, will endeavor to enter in, but will not be able. 25 When 
once the house-lord shall have risen up, and shall have shut the door, 
and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, 
'Master, open to us,' and he shall answer and say to you, 'I do not 
know you whence you are,' 26 then you will begin to say, 'We ate 
and drank in your presence, and you taught us in our streets,' 2j 
and he will say, speaking to you, 'I tell you, I do not know [ [you] ] 
whence you are ; "depart from me, all ye doers of iniquity" ' 28 
There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you shall see 
Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets in the kingdom 
of God, but yourselves being thrown outside. 29 And they shall 
come from the east and west, and from the north and south, and 
shall recline [at table] in the kingdom of God. 30 And behold, 
there are last who shall be first, and there are first who shall be 
last." 

COMMENTARY 

The narrow "gate" of Matthew vii. 13 is here a narrow "door." 
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and all the prophets had entered through 
that door, and were safe in heaven, centuries before Iesous was 
born to be the Savior of mankind, according to this "history." The 
compilers of the Gospels do not explain why these ancient worthies 
were "saved" while all other pre-Christian descendants of Adam 
were doomed to Hinnom-valley. Later theologians have invented 
various conflicting theories on the subject, but none of their theories 
will bear close analysis. 



762 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Ch. xiii. 31-35 

31 In that same hour came to him certain Pharisees, saying 
to him: 

"Depart, and proceed hence; for Herod intends to kill you." 

32 And he said to them: 

"Go and say to that fox, 'Behold, I am casting out ghosts 
and performing cures to-day and to-morrow, and the third 
[day] I am having myself initiated.' 33 However, proceed I 
must to-day and to-morrow and the [day] following; for it is 
not possible for a prophet to perish outside of Jerusalem. 34 
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the seers and stones those 
who are sent to her! How often would I have gathered your 
children together, in the way a hen [gathers] her own brood 
under her wings — and you would not! 35 Behold, 'your house 
is left to you [ [desolate']]' ; and I say to you, You shall see me not, 
until you say, 'Blessed is he who is coming in the Master's name! ' 

COMMENTARY 

According to Matthew (xxiii. 37) the lament over Jerusalem is 
uttered by Iesous while he is in that city. Here in the periscope it 
can not be said to have any "historical" situation, as the whole sec- 
tion is really outside the narrative. 

Chapter xiv. 1-14 

1 And it befell, when he went into the house of one of the rulers 
of the Pharisees on a sabbath to eat bread, that they were insidi- 
ously watching him. 2 And behold, there was in front of him a 
dropsical man. 3 And Iesous answered and spoke to the lawyers 
and Pharisees, saying: 

"Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath, or not?" 

4 But they kept quiet. And taking hold of him, he healed him, 
and let him go. 5 And he [[answered and]] said to them: 

"Which of you shall have an ass, [ [a son, a sheep] ] or an ox fall 
into a cistern, and will not immediately draw him up on a sabbath 
day?" 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 76$ 

6 And they were not able to answer [ [him] ] back in reference 
to these things. 

7 And he spoke a parable to those who were invited — when he 
observed how they were picking out for themselves the foremost 
places — saying to them : 

8 "When you are invited by any one to a marriage-feast, do not 
recline in the foremost place; lest a more honorable man than you 
may have been invited by him, 9 and he who invited you and him 
shall come and say to you, 'Give this [man] place'; and you will 
begin with shame to take the lowest place. 10 But when you are 
invited, go and fall back into the lowest place, that when he who 
has invited you comes, he may say to you, 'Friend, go up higher' ; 
then you shall have glory before those who are reclining [at table] 
with you. 11 For every one who exalts himself shall be abased; 
and he who abases himself shall be exalted." 

12 And he said to him also who had invited him : 
"When you make a breakfast or a dinner, do not call your friends, 
nor your brothers, nor your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they 
also should invite you in return, and repayment is yours. 13 But 
when you make an entertainment, invite the poor, the maimed, the 
lame, the blind, 14 and you shall be blessed ; because they have not 
[wherewith] to repay you : for you shall be repaid in the resurrec- 
tion of the just." 

COMMENTARY 

Here the story of the healing on the sabbath is varied by having 
the cure performed in a private house instead of in a synagogue. 
But it is essentially the same story : the ass and the ox reappear, and 
the Pharisees are similarly abashed. Xo doubt the man cured of 
the dropsy was the same individual who formerly had a withered 
hand, and who later on was the woman bent double by "a spirit of 
infirmity." Even when the "ass" is transformed into a "son," as 
in some manuscripts, the story is still recognizable. 

The "parable" spoken to the unmannerly guests inculcates social 
hypocrisy and mock-humility: the self-seeker is advised to take a 



764 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

back seat in order that he may receive "glory" when invited to take 
a more prominent one. Selfishness is appealed to in the precept 
that a man giving an entertainment should invite only the poor and 
the physically defective, to the exclusion of his own relatives and 
friends, so that he may reap an eternal reward for his charity. 

Ch. xiv. 15-24 

15 And when one of those reclining [at table] with him heard 
these things, he said to him: 

"Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God." 

16 But he said to him : 

"A certain man made a great dinner, and invited many. 17 
And he sent his slave at the hour of the dinner to say to those 
who had been invited: 

"'Come; for [[all things]] are now ready.' 

18 "And they all with one [accord] began to beg to be ex- 
cused. The first said to him : 

" T have bought a farm, and it is necessary that I should go out 
and see it. I pray you have me excused.' 

19 "And another said : 

" 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and am going to prove them. 
I pray you have me excused.' 

20 "And another said : 

" 'I have married a wife, and for this reason I can not come.' 

21 "And the slave came and told his master these things. 
Then the house-lord, being enraged, said to his slave : 

" 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and 
bring in here the poor and maimed and blind and lame.' 

22 "And the slave said : 

" 'Master, what you ordered has been done, and still there is 
room.' 

23 "And the master said to the slave : 

" 'Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel [them] 
to come in, that my house may be filled. 24 For I say to you, 
Not one of those men who were invited shall taste of my 
dinner.' " 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 765 

COMMENTARY 

This story is obviously a variant of the allegory in Matthew xxii. 
1-13. It differs from the allegory only as the stories of the man 
with the withered hand, the doubled-up woman and the dropsical 
man differ from each other. The "king" is here only "a certain 
man," and it is merely a dinner that he gives, and not a wedding- 
feast for his son; he sends out but one slave, the persons invited 
do not murder the messenger, their city is not destroyed, and the 
man without a wedding-garment fails to put in his appearance. 
The allegory has been converted into an anecdote and so modified 
as to point the moral of the absurd counsel given in verse 13. This 
version thus omits some of the essential details of the allegory as 
given in Matthew; but in the characteristic style of the compiler of 
Luke it expands out of due proportion the unimportant matter of the 
excuses offered by those who were invited, and is introduced into 
the narrative by a transparent device, being made to hinge upon the 
platitude uttered by one of the diners. 

Ch. xiv. 25-35 

25 Now, great crowds were going with him ; and he turned and 
said to them : 

26 "If any man comes to me, and does not hate his own 
father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers, and 
sisters, and moreover his own psychic self too, he can not be 
my disciple. 27 And whoever does not lift up his cross, and 
come after me, can not be my disciple. 28 For which of you, 
desiring to build a castle, does not first sit down and calculate 
the expense, whether he has [means] to complete it? 29 Lest 
ever when he has laid the foundation for it, and is not able to 
finish, all the beholders should begin to make sport of him, 30 
saying, 'This man began to build, but was not able to finish.' 
31 Or what king, when going to engage another king in war, 
will not first sit down and take counsel whether he is able with 
ten thousand [soldiers] to meet the [foeman] who is coming 
against him with twenty thousand? 32 But if not, while the 



766 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

other is yet far off, he sends an embassy and asks [the terms] 
of peace. 33 Thus, then, no one of you who does not take leave 
of all that he possesses can be my disciple. 34 Salt is good; 
but if even the salt become tasteless, with what shall it be sea- 
soned? 35 It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure-pile; 
they throw it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear." 

COMMENTARY 

The pegs upon which some of the discourses of Iesous are hung 
are too slight to sustain the weight placed on them. Thus the anec-,r 
dote (for it can hardly be called an allegory) of the certain man's* 
dinner is supposed to be suggested by the stupid remark, "Blessed 
is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God" ; and here the dis- 
course on the conditions of discipleship has no other "historical" 
setting than the bald statement that "great crowds were going with 
him." The saying about salt, however, has not even the shadow of 
a peg to hang on ; but, as usual when the text becomes meaningless, 
an exhortation is addressed to "him who has ears." 

Chapter xv 

1 Now, all the tax-collectors and sinners were drawing near 
to him to hear him. 2 And both the Pharisees and the scribes 
kept muttering, saying: 

"This [man] receives sinners kindly, and eats with them." 

3 And he spoke to them this allegory, saying: 

4 "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, and having 
lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the desert, 
and go after that lost [sheep], until he find it? 5 And when he 
finds it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing ; 6 and on coming 
to his house, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying 
to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was 
lost/ 7 I say to you, Thus shall there be [greater] joy in the 
heaven-world over one sinner who reforms than over ninety- 
nine virtuous [persons] who have no need of reform. 

8 "Or what woman, having ten pieces of silver, if she should 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 767 

lose one piece, does not light a lamp, and sweep the house, and 
seek carefully until she finds it. 9 And having found it, she 
calls together her friends and neighbors, saying, 'Rejoice with 
me, for I have found the piece which I lost/ 10 Thus, I say 
to you, There is joy in the presence of the Divinities of God 
over one sinner who reforms." 

11 And he said: 

"A certain man had two sons; 12 and the younger of them 
said to his father: 

1 'Father, give me the portion of your substance that falls 
to me/ 

"And he divided to them his living. 13 And not many days 
after, the younger son gathered all together and went on a 
journey to a distant country, and there dissipated his substance, 
living profligately. 14 And when he had spent all, a mighty 
famine befell all through that country, and he began to be in 
want. 1 5 And he went and attached himself to one of the citi- 
zens of that country; and he sent him into his fields to feed 
swine. 16 And he used to long to have been fed on the carob- 
pods which the swine were eating. But no one gave him 
[bread]. 17 But when he came to himself he said : 

" 'How many of my father's wage-workers have more than 
enough bread — and I am perishing here with hunger! 18 I 
shall arise and go to my father, and shall say to him, Father, I 
have sinned against heaven and before you; 19 no longer am I 
worthy to be called your son; make me as one of your wage- 
workers/ 

20 "And he arose and went to his father. But while he was 
yet far away his father saw him, and his heart was stirred, and 
he ran and fell on his neck, and kissed him again and again. 
21 And the son said to him: 

" 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you ; no 
longer am I worthy to be called your son; [[make me as one 
of your wage-workers] ] .' 

22 "But the father said to his slaves : 

" 'Bring out quickly the first robe, and put it on him ; and put 



768 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

a ring on his hand, and sandals on his feet. 23 And bring the 
fatted calf; sacrifice it [as a thank-offering], and let us eat, and 
feast joyfully : 24 for this my son was dead, and is alive again ; 
he was lost, and is found/ 

"And they began to feast joyfully. 25 Now, his older son 
was in the field, and as he came and drew near the house he 
heard music and dancing. 26 And he called to him one of his 
slave-boys, and inquired what these things might be. 27 And 
he said to him: 

" * Your brother is come ; and your father has sacrificed the 
fatted calf, because he has regained him safe and sound.' 

28 "But he was angry, and was not willing to go in ; and his 
father came out and tried to persuade him. 29 But he an- 
swered and said to his father: 

" 'Behold, I have been slaving for you so many years, and 
I have never transgressed a command of yours — and you have 
never given me a kid, that I might feast joyfully with my 
friends ! 30 But when this your son came, who has consumed 
your living with strumpets, you sacrificed for him the fatted 
calf.' 

31 "And he said to him : 

" 'Child, you are with me always, and all things that are mine 
are yours. 32 But it was proper to feast joyfully and be glad : 
for this your brother was dead, and is alive ; and was lost, and 
is found.' " 

Chapter xvi. 1-13 

1 And he said also to the disciples : 

"There was a certain rich man who had a steward, and the latter 
was accused to him of dissipating his property. 2 And he called 
him, and said to him : 

" 'What is this I hear about you ? Render an account of your 
stewardship; for you can no longer be steward.' 

3 "And the steward said within himself : 

" 'What shall I do, since my master is taking away the steward- 
ship from me ? I have not strength to dig ; I am ashamed to beg. 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 769 

4 I have decided what I shall do, that, when I shall have been re- 
moved from the stewardship, they may entertain me in their houses.' 

5 "And calling to him each one of his master's debtors, he said 
to the first : 

" 'How much do you owe my master ?' 

6 "And he said : 

" 'A hundred baths of oil.' 

"And he said to him : 

" 'Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.' 

7 "Then he said to another : 

" 'And how much do you owe ?' 

"And he said : 

" 'A hundred cors of wheat.' 

''And he says to him : 

" 'Take your bill, and write eighty.' 

8 "And the master praised the steward for the wrongful deed, 
because he had acted shrewdly. For the sons of this aeon are 
shrewder in their own generative-sphere than are the Sons of 
Light. 9 And I say to you, Make friends for yourselves by 
[serving] the Mamon of injustice, that when you die they may 
entertain you in the seonian dwellings. 10 He who is trust- 
worthy in a very little is trustworthy also in much ; and he who 
is unjust in a very little is unjust also in much. 1 1 If, therefore, 
you have not been trustworthy in [serving] the unjust Mamon, 
who will entrust to you the True? 12 And if you have not 
proved trustworthy in that which is another's, who will give 
you that which is your own? 13 No house-slave can serve 
two masters : for either he will hate the one, and love the other ; 
or he will cling to the one, and despise the other. You can not 
serve God and Mamon." 

COMMENTARY 

Four allegories are here given consecutively. The first three hold 
the same meaning, and in each of them the subject is the recovery 
of that which is lost : there is the affecting parable of the lost sheep ; 
following it is the homely but clever variant, the parable of the lost 



770 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

coin (drachme) ; and then comes the more comprehensive allegory 
of the lost son. These three allegories justly belong to religious 
literature of the purest and noblest kind; but this can not be said 
of the fourth allegory of the series— if, indeed, the latter is intended 
as an allegory, since it only purports to be the story of the steward 
of "a certain rich man." However, as it winds up with a moral, it 
certainly has the form of a fable, and may therefore be regarded as 
an allegory. It affects a Jewish tone by speaking of baths of oil 
and cors of wheat— from which it might be inferred that the forger 
who wrote it had in mind the statement in Josephus' Antiquities that 
Solomon annually sent many cors of wheat and baths of oil to King 
Hiram. According to this singular fable, a steward who wastes his 
employer's property, and then swindles him by falsifying accounts, 
is to be admired and commended for his shrewdness when his mo- 
tive is that he may make friends of his employer's debtors and 
become a dependent on their charity. A "moral" is then drawn 
from this immoral parable which is more objectionable even than 
the parable itself, to the effect that a man should faithfully serve 
the God of Greed and Injustice, thereby demonstrating his shrewd- 
ness and trustworthiness, so that he may be well received in heaven 
and be entrusted with divine things. This fable in praise of un- 
manliness and rascality is spoken by Iesous to his disciples, and the 
spurious discourse is followed by a genuine "saying" which nobly 
contradicts the vile doctrine which is derived from the fable. 

Ch. xvi. 14-18 

14 And the Pharisees, who are lovers of money, heard all these 
things; and they sneered at him. 15 And he said to them: 

"You are they who show yourselves honest before men ; but God 
knows your hearts : for that which is lofty among men is an abomi- 
nation before God. 16 The law and the [moral precepts of] the 
prophets [were in forced until Ioannes : from that time the king- 
dom of God is announced, and every one carries it by storm. 17 
But it is easier for the sky and the earth to pass away than for one 
accent to drop out [of the text] of the law. 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDIXG TO LUKE 771 

18 "Every one who divorces his wife and marries another com- 
mits adultery; and he who marries a woman divorced from her 
husband commits adultery. 

COMMENTARY 

It was natural that the Pharisees, as honest men, whether "lovers 
of money" or not, should have sneered at any professed teacher of 
morals who thus in public exhorted his disciples to become swin- 
dlers and knaves. The pseudo-Iesous does not defend or apologize 
for the vicious doctrine ; on the contrary, he caps it with the start- 
ling statement that whatever is lofty among men (as honesty, the 
virtue under discussion) is an abomination before God. He then 
intimates that the "law" — meaning the Mosaic code — and the prin- 
ciples of morality inculcated by the Jewish prophets had ceased to 
be binding upon the advent of Ioannes, but contradicts himself in 
the next sentence, apparently. However, this contradictory sentence, 
with the following one on the irrelevant subject of divorce, was 
very probably added by a later interpolator, who perceived that the 
nullification of the law would not only wipe out the commandments, 
but would also strike at the very foundation of morality (as laid 
down by the forgers) by sanctioning the marriage of divorced men 
and women. To make such marriages violative of the ten command- 
ments (which are mysteriously silent on the subject), they are pro- 
nounced to be adulterous. According to Matthew (v. 17-19) 
Iesous reaffirmed the law ; but that is not the teaching of Luke, 
either here or elsewhere. 

Ch. xvi. 19-31 

19 "There was a certain rich man, and he was clothed in purple 
and line linen, feasting joyfully and splendidly every day. 20 And 
[ [there was] ] a certain poor man, named Lazaros, [ [who] ] was 
laid at his gateway, afflicted with ulcers, 21 and longing to be fed 
with the crumbs which fell from the rich man's table ; yes, even the 
dogs came and licked his ulcers. 22 And it befell that the poor man 
died, and [his immortal] self was carried away by the Divinities 
into Abraham's bosom; and the rich man also died, and was buried. 



7J2 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

23 And in the underworld he lifted up his eyes, being in torment, 
and sees Abraham afar off, and Lazaros in his bosom. 24 And he 
cried out and said : 

" 'Father Abraham, have compassion on me, and send Lazaros, 
that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and refresh my tongue ; 
for I am suffering in this flame.' 

25 "But Abraham said : 

" 'Child, remember that you in }^our lifetime received your good 
things, and Lazaros likewise evil things ; but now he is being cheered, 
and you are suffering. 26 And amongst all these things [interven- 
ing] between us and you there is a chasm fixed, that they who wish 
to pass from here to you may not be able, and that none may go 
across from there to us.' 

27 "And he said : 

" 'I entreat you, then, Father, that you would send him to my 
father's house — 28 for I have five brothers — that he may make an 
earnest and solemn affirmation to them, lest they also come to this 
place of torment.' 

29 "But Abraham says [ [to him] ] : 

" They have Moses and the prophets : let them hear them.' 

30 "But he said : 

" 'No, Father Abraham ; but if one should go to them from the 
dead, they will reform.' 

31 "And he said to him : 

" 'If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, they will not be 
persuaded even if one should rise from the dead.' ' 

COMMENTARY 

This fable— for it can only be regarded as a fable, and a very 
foolish one at that— illustrates the doctrine that the rich are to be 
punished in the other world for having prosperity on earth, while 
the poor receive compensation for their privations on earth by being 
exalted to heavenly bliss. The "certain rich man" committed the 
unpardonable offence of enjoying the innocent pleasures of life. 
Lazaros was virtuously hungry and afflicted with ulcers. The rich 
man may have been one of the noblest of men, and Lazaros one of 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 773 

the worst, so far as this story is concerned. Abraham speaks gently 
to the rich man, and tells him that he is now in the place of torment 
because he received good things in his lifetime, and that Lazaros 
is in heaven because he received evil things on earth. No mention 
is made of "righteousness," "good works," or even "faith." The 
five brothers of the rich man are doomed to descend into the world 
of woe unless they "repent" or "reform" ; but for a rich man to 
reform is, according to Luke, merely a matter of his selling all his 
possessions and giving the proceeds to the poor ; apparently it would 
not do for him to give his belongings to the poor, but he must sell 
them and rejoice the poor with hard cash. It might be argued that 
in proportion as he gave to the poor he would be depriving them 
of their merit, and that by injudiciously giving too large a sum to 
any one beggar he would thereby imperil the latter's eternal bliss. 
The conception of heaven and hell as two localities separated by 
a chasm is crude to the last degree, even if the story is mercifully 
conceded to be allegorical; and the modest request of the rich man 
for the amount of water that Lazaros could carry on his finger-tip 
through the flames of hell is a bit of unconscious humor. But the 
statement that the mouldy writings of Moses and the prophets are 
as convincing evidence of immortality as would be the direct testi- 
mony of a man actually raised from the dead is too stupid to be 
amusing, even in view of the fact that in the books attributed to 
Moses there is no reference whatever to a state of rewards and 
punishments in a future world, or even a positive statement that 
there is a life hereafter. 

Chapter xvii. 1-6 

1 And he said to his disciples : 

"It is impossible that impediments should not come ; but woe 
to him through whom they come ! 2 It is better for him if a 
ponderous millstone is placed around his neck, and he is thrown 
into the sea, than that he should place an impediment in the 
way of one of these little ones. 3 Take heed to yourselves : if 
your brother should sin against you, reprove him; and if he 
should repent, forgive him. 4 And if he should sin against you 



774 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

seven times in the day, and seven times [[in the day]] return 
to you saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him." 

5 And the apostles said to the Master : 
"Master, add to us [more] faith." 

6 But the Master said : 

"If you had faith as a grain of mustard seed, you might say to 
[[this]] mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted, and be planted in the sea/ 
and it would obey you. 

COMMENTARY 

* The fable of the rich man and the beggar, elucidating the subject 
of salvation by poverty, followed naturally after the fable of the 
steward who was laudably engaged in saving his master's soul by 
dissipating his property. Wealth being a stumbling-block on the 
way of salvation, the "saying" about the millstone appropriately 
follows. The advice on the forgiveness of sins, by changing the 
subject abruptly, denotes that there is nothing more to be said about 
it, thus bringing the discourse to an end. It is small wonder that 
the disciples, after hearing these remarkable utterances, feel the 
inadequacy of their faith and ask to have it augmented. In response 
to their entreaty, Iesous merely utters a garbled "saying" taken 
from the incident of the barren fig-tree (which is not given in 
Luke). In view of the confessed feebleness of their faith, the tree 
and not the mountain is made obedient to the command of faith 
as small as a mustard seed; and the fig-tree itself (syke) has here 
been changed to a sycamine (sykaminos), or fig-mulberry. 

Ch. xvii. 7-10 

7 "But which of you is there who, having a slave plowing or 
shepherding, will say to him when he comes in from the field, 'Come 
immediately and recline [at table],' 8 but will not rather say to 
him, 'Prepare what I may dine on, and put on an apron and wait 
on me while I eat and drink, and afterward you shall eat and 
drink'? 9 Does he show gratitude to that slave because he per- 
formed the tasks appointed [[to him]]? [[I fancy not!]] 10 
Thus you also, when you have performed all the tasks appointed 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 775 

to you, say, 'We are useless slaves; we have done what we were 
obliged to do.' " 

COMMENTARY 

The beggars, especially when blind or deformed, are notable ob- 
jects of charity; but the laboring men, whether chattel-slaves or 
wage-slaves, are not entitled to gratitude or consideration : this is 
clearly and unmistakably the teaching of the pseudo-Iesous of Luke. 
Now, if society were organized on principles of economic justice, 
men would not be degraded by wage-slavery and beggary, and help- 
less unfortunates would be properly taken care of without debasing 
their souls by making them the recipients of charity. 

Ch. xvii. 11-19 

11 And it befell, as he was going to Jerusalem, that he was pass- 
ing through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he 
entered into a certain village there met him ten leprous men, who 
stood afar off; 13 and they lifted up their voices, saying: 

"Iesous, Captain, have compassion on us!" 

14 And when he saw them he said to them : 

"Go and show yourselves to the priests." 

And it befell, as they went, that they were cleansed. 1 5 And one 
of them, on seeing that he was healed, turned back, with a loud 
voice glorifying God; 16 and he fell on his face at his feet, giving 
him thanks; and he was a Samaritan. 17 And Iesous, answering, 
said: 

"Were not the ten cleansed? [[But]] w r here are the nine? 18 
Were none found who turned back to give glory to God, except 
this foreigner?" 

19 And he said to him: 

"Rise up, and go. Your faith has saved you," 

COMMENTARY 

As the verb sozein means "to heal" as well as "to save," the 
words addressed to the grateful Samaritan may signify either that 
his soul was saved by faith or that his body was cleansed by it. 



776 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

But it is implied that he alone of the ten lepers had faith, for other- 
wise the story would lose its moral — salvation by faith. Accord- 
ing to this view it must have been his soul that was saved. In that 
case, however, the nine lepers were healed without faith; and so, 
in whichever way sozein is rendered, the story lands the interpreter 
in a theological dilemma. 



't> j 



Ch. xvii. -20-37 

20 And having been asked by the Pharisees when is the king- 
dom of God coming, he answered them and said : 

"The kingdom of God does not come through external per- 
ception; 21 nor shall they say, 'Behold, [it is] here!' or, '[Be- 
hold, it is] there !' For, behold, the kingdom of God is within 
you." 

22 And he said to his disciples : 

"The days will come when you will long to see one of the 
days of the Son of man, and you shall not see it. 23 And they 
will say to you, 'Behold, [he is] there!* or, 'Behold, [he is] 
here!' [[Do not go forth,]] nor become followers of [them]. 
24 For as the lightning, when it flashes from the one edge of 
the sky, shines to the other edge of the sky, so shall the Son of 
man be [[in his day]]. 25 But first it is inevitable for him to 
suffer many things, and be rejected by this age. 26 And as it be- 
fell in the days of Noah, even so shall it be also in the days of the 
Son of man. 27 They were eating, drinking, marrying, being given 
in marriage, until the day when 'Noah entered into the ark,' and the 
flood came, and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise even as it befell 
in the days of Lot: they were eating, drinking, buying, selling, 
planting, building; 29 but on the day when Lot went out from 
Sodom 'it rained fire and sulphur from the sky/ and destroyed them 
all. 30 In the same way shall it be in the day when the Son of 
man is unveiled. 31 In that day, he who shall be on the housetop, 
and his domestic goods in the house, let him not go down to take 
them away; and let him who is in the field likewise not 'turn back 
to the things that are behind/ 32 (Remember Lot's wife!) 33 
Whoever shall seek to win his soul shall lose it ; and whoever 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 777 

shall lose [his soul] shall generate it. 34 I say to you, In that 
night there shall be two men on [[one]] bed; the one shall be 
taken, and the other shall be left. 35 There shall be two wo- 
men grinding together; the one shall be taken, and the other 
shall be left. [[36 There shall be two [men] in the field; the 
one shall be taken, and the other shall be left.]]" 

37 And they, answering, say to him : 

"Where, Master?" 

And he said to them : 

"Where the body is, there also will the eagles be gathered 
together." 

COMMENTARY 

No clearer statement could be made than the one in the text, that 
the divine kingdom is purely subjective, and not the advent of any 
objective person or thing. But the heavenly kingdom of the forgers 
is grossly materialistic : the kingdom is to be established on earth 
when Iesous in his resurrected physical body returns from the skies, 
calls the dead to life, restoring to them their decomposed physical 
bodies reintegrated, and sifts the good believers from the bad un- 
believers, consigning the latter to the "place of torment." Even the 
conception of the psychic world shown in the fable of Lazaros and 
the rich man is less absurd than this notion of a Messianic kingdom, 
which was put forward by designing priests to strengthen their hold 
on the ignorant and the psychically blind. 

Chapter xviii. 1-8 

1 And he spoke an allegory to them, to the purport that they 
must always pray, and not be dispirited, 2 saying : 

"There was in a certain city a certain judge who did not fear 
God, and did not reverence man. 3 And there was a widow in 
that city ; and she kept coming to him and saying : 

" 'Do me justice from the party adverse to me.' 

4 "And he would not for a while ; but afterward he said within 
himself : 

" 'Even if I do not fear God, nor reverence man, 5 yet because 



778 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

this woman gives me annoyance, I shall do her justice, lest finally 
she may come and give me a black eye.' " 

6 And the Master said: 

"Hear what the judge of injustice says. 7 And shall not God 
cause the giving of justice for his chosen ones, who keep crying to 
him day and night, even though he is indulgent to them? 8 I say 
to you, He will cause the giving of justice for them speedily. How- 
ever, when the Son of man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" 

COMMENTARY 

This anecdote, or "parable," although intended to inspire the 
prayerful mind, seems to appeal more directly to the risible faculty. 
It is one of a number of pseudo-parables in Luke which are written 
in the same style, show the same peculiar moral obliquity, and are 
therefore evidently from the same pen. 

Ch. xviii. 9-14 

9 And he spoke also this allegory to some who were confident in 
themselves that they were just, and treated the rest [of men] as 
of no account : 

10 "Two men went up into the temple to pray— the one a Phari- 
see, and the other a tax-collector. 11 The Pharisee stood and 
prayed with regard to himself thus : 

" 'God, I thank thee that I am not as the rest of men, rapacious, 
unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax-collector. 12 I fast twice in 
the week; I give tithes of all things that I gain.' 

13 "And the tax-collector, standing afar off, would not even lift 
up his eyes to the sky, but kept striking his breast, saying: 

" 'God, be propitious to me, who am a sinner !' 

14 "I say to you, This [man] went down to his house justified 
rather than the other. For every one who exalts himself shall be 
abased; but he who abases himself shall be exalted." 

COMMENTARY 

With this fable the periscope comes to an end: having inserted 
nine chapters containing new matter, which is largely spurious, the 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 779 

compiler is ready to pick up the broken thread of the narrative as 
found in the text of Mark, which he follows henceforth, though 
with sundry changes and additions. 

Ch. xviii. 15-17 

15 And they were bringing to him also the new-born babes, 
that he might touch them ; but the disciples, when they saw it, 
reproved them. 16 But Iesous called them to him, saying: 

"Permit the little children to come to me, and do not forbid 
them; for to such belongs the kingdom of God. 17 Amen, I 
say to you, Whoever shall not, like a little child, receive God's 
kingdom, he shall not at all enter into it." 

COMMENTARY 

The subject of little children is here resumed, having been broken 
off in the passage immediately preceding the periscope, that is, ix. 
46-50. It seems that the compiler (or some later improver) of Mark, 
in severing a page to interpolate a passage aimed against divorce, 
divided the story of the children, and made two stories of it ; and in 
this state the text was copied by the compilers of Matthezv and 
Luke, who also found it a convenient gap in which to insert new 
matter. All the discourses on the subject of the state of childhood 
should naturally follow upon the incident of parents bringing their 
little children to Iesous ; but in the section preceding the interpola- 
tions the subject is introduced abruptly and inartistically by the 
words, "He took a little child, and set him in the midst of them," 
and the fragment of a discourse following that incident does not 
aptly or even truthfully apply to "this little child,'' but refers prop- 
erly to "the little ones who believe in me," whom the children figur- 
atively represent. In this final fragment of the sundered story the 
"little children" are changed, in the text of Luke, to "new-born 
babes," for no apparent reason. 

Ch. xviii. 18-30 

18 And a certain ruler asked him, saying: 

"Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit seonian life?" 



780 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

19 And Iesous said to him: 

"Why do you call me 'good' ? Except one— God— no one is good. 
20 You know the commandments, 'Do not commit adultery/ 'Do 
not kill/ 'Do not steal/ 'Do not testify falsely/ 'Honor your father 
and mother/ " 

21 And he said: 

"From my youth up I have observed all these things." 

22 And when Iesous heard it he said to him : 

"One thing you lack yet : sell all that you possess, and distribute 
[the proceeds] to the mendicants, and you will have treasure in 
the sky; and come, follow me." 

23 But when he heard these things he became deeply grieved; 
for he was very rich. 24 And Iesous, seeing him [ [become deeply 
grieved]], said: 

"In what a difficult way shall the possessors of riches enter into 
the kingdom of God! 25 For it is more feasible for a camel to 
enter in through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter into 
the kingdom of God." 

26 And they who heard it said : 
"Then who can be saved?" 

27 But he said : 

"The things which are impossible with men are possible with 
God." 

28 And Petros said : 

"Behold, we have left all, and have followed you." 

29 And he said to them : 

"Amen, I say to you, There is no one who has left house, or 
wife, or brothers, or parents, or children, for the sake of the 
kingdom of God, 30 who shall not receive many times as 
many in this season, and in the seon that is coming seonian 
life." 

COMMENTARY 

This passage is condensed from Mark; but the rich man is here 
called a "ruler," and this complicates matters : for in following the 
advice of Iesous he would not only have to throw away his riches, 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 781 

but would also have to abandon the duties connected with his im- 
portant office. It is not by shirking the responsibilities of material 
life that a man qualifies himself for the life supernal. 

Ch. xviii. 31-34 

3 1 And he took to him the twelve, and said to them : 
"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all the things 
which have been written through the prophets shall happen to 
the Son of man : 32 for he will be handed over to the profane, 
and will be made sport of, and be maltreated, and be spit upon ; 
33 and when they have scourged him, they will kill him; and on 
the third day he will rise [from the dead]." 

34 And they understood nothing of these things ; and this sub- 
ject was concealed from them, and they did not know the things 
said. 

COMMENTARY 

Both Luke and Matthew follow Mark in having Iesous predict 
three times that he is to be crucified. The repetition may be due to 
a notion on the part of the compiler that the prediction thereby 
received greater solemnity; for the ancient Greeks regarded three 
as a peculiarly sacred number. But the prediction thus made on 
three different occasions loses rather than gains in impressiveness. 
Elsewhere, as in Mark xiv. 30, 41, the triplicity is employed more 
effectively. 

Ch. xviii. 35-43 

35 And it befell, as he drew near to Jericho, that a certain blind 
man sat beside the road, begging ; 36 and when he heard the crowd 
passing along he asked what this might be. 37 And they told himi 

"Iesous the Nazorsean is passing by." 

38 And he called out, saying: 

"Iesous, son of David, have compassion on me !" 

39 And those going before [Iesous] reproved him, that he should 
be silent ; but he shouted much more : 

"Son of David, have compassion on me!" 



782 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

40 And Iesous stopped, and ordered him to be brought to him ; 
and when he had drawn near he asked him : 

41 "What do you wish that I should do to you?" 
And he said: 

"Master, that I may recover my sight." 

42 And Iesous said to him : 

"Recover your sight. Your faith has saved you." 

43 And immediately he recovered his sight, and went along with 
him, glorifying God. And all the people, when they saw it, gave 
praise to God. 

COMMENTARY 

According to Mark, the beggar was "the son of Timaios," and to 
this phrase is appended the curious barbarism "Bar-Timaios," the 
prefix bar being Chaldaic for "son of," and Timaios being a purely 
Greek name. Possibly the mongrel word Bar-Timaios is intended 
for the name of the blind beggar, but more probably it represents an 
unsuccessful attempt to translate "son of Timaios" into Hebrew. 
The compiler of Luke, who was a man of some education, has 
omitted the doubtful name, falling back on his favorite expression, 
"a certain" man. The compiler of Matthew, however, solved the 
difficulty by not only avoiding the use of names, but also by bring- 
ing two blind men into the story, who were, it may be inferred, 
Timaios senior and Timaios junior. As the story has in Matthew 
the same "historical" position, as well as the same place in the text, 
that it has in the other Synoptics, and is, save for the use of the 
plural, copied almost word for word from Mark, it can not reason- 
ably be regarded as referring to another and distinct incident. 

Chapter xix. i-io 

1 And he entered and was passing through Jericho. 2 And be- 
hold, [there was] a man called by name Zakchaios, and he was a 
chief tax-collector, and was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see 
Iesous, who he is, and he could not on account of the crowd, because 
he was little in stature. 4 And he ran forward to the front, and 
climbed up into a sycamore tree, that he might see him ; for he was 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 783 

about to pass that [way]. 5 And when Iesous came to the place 
he looked up, and said to him : 

"Zakchaios, come down in haste ; for to-day I need to stay at your 
house." 

6 And he came down in haste, and entertained him delightedly. 
7 And when they saw it they all murmured, saying : 

"He has gone in to put up with a sinful man." 

8 But Zakchaios stood, and said to the Master: 

"Behold, Master, the half of my possessions I give to the poor; 
and if I have extorted anything of any one by misrepresentation, 
I restore it fourfold." 

9 And Iesous said to him : 

"To-day salvation is come to this house, inasmuch as he also is 
a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of man came to seek and to 
save that which was lost." 

COMMENTARY 

The compiler, nettled by the unskilful work of the forger who in- 
serted the story of Bar-Timaios in Mark, has here endeavored to 
show that he could write a better story offhand and give its hero 
a name so Hebraic that it would be above suspicion. It certainly 
is a better story, though it is not adorned with a miracle. The 
ingenious little plutocrat climbs a tree to see Iesous, and when 
accused of being a sinner he ably vindicates himself ; he also makes 
a good bargain, reaching salvation by giving only half — not all — 
of his possessions to the poor. This is the only bit of genuine 
Jewish "local color" in the Gospels. 

Ch. xix. 11-27 

n And as they were hearing these things, he further spoke an 
allegory, because he was near Jerusalem, and they fancied that the 
kingdom of God was about to appear forthwith. 12 He said there- 
fore : 

"A certain man of high descent went to a distant country to 
receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. 13 And having 
called ten slaves of his, he gave them ten mince, and said to them : 



784 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

" 'Do business [with this money] until I return.' 

14 "But his citizens hated him, and sent an embassy after him, 
saying : 

" 'We are not willing for this [man] to reign over us.' 

15 "And it befell, when he came back again, having received the 
kingdom, that he directed to be called to him those slaves to whom 
he had given the money, that he might know what each had gained 
by doing business. 16 And the first came to [him], saying: 

" 'Master, your mina has produced ten mince more.' 

17 "And he said to him: 

" 'Well done, good slave ! Because you have proved faithful in 
a very little, have authority over ten cities.' 

18 "And the second came, saying: 

" 'Master, your mina has made five mince! 

19 "And to him also he said : 

" 'Do you also rule over five cities/ 

20 "And another came, saying: 

" 'Master, behold, here is your mina, which I kept laid up in a 
handkerchief. 21 For I feared you because you are a harsh man: 
you take away [property] which you did not store, and reap [grain] 
which you did not sow.' 

22 "He says to him : 

" 'Out of your own mouth I shall judge you, slothful slave. You 
knew that I am a harsh man, taking away [property] which I did 
not store, and reaping [grain] which I did not sow; 23 and why, 
then, did you not deposit my money in the bank, that I, on my re- 
turn, might have exacted it with usury?' 

24 "And to the bystanders he said : 

" 'Take the mina away from him, and give it to him who has the 
ten mince/ (25 And they said to him, 'Master, he has ten mince!') 
26 '[ [For] ] I say to you, To every one who has shall be given ; but 
from him who has not, even that which he has shall be taken away 
from him. 27 Moreover, these mine enemies, who were unwilling 
for me to reign over them, bring them here, and slay them before 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 785 

COMMENTARY 

From the story of the clever Zakchaios, who purchased salvation 
at a reduction of fifty per cent, from the regular price, the compiler 
(here engaged in enriching the text with original contributions 
from his own facile pen) passes on to elucidate the subject of busi- 
ness and its profits. In the "allegory" the Ruler of the Universe is 
likened to "a certain well-born man" who has a habit of walking 
off with things that do not belong to him, who expects his under- 
lings to exact usury and do business only at enormous profit, and 
who slaughters his subjects when they, very naturally, hate him 
and are unwilling to be ruled by him. One of the genuine "sayings" 
is inserted in the allegory, but with a perverted meaning, which is 
more clearly expressed in the modern Jewish saying that "money 
goes to money." But in introducing the "saying" the author of the 
allegory muddled its conclusion : the "saying," as the moral that 
adorns the "allegory," should have been placed in the mouth of 
Iesous, but it is brought in prematurely and uttered by the king 
whom his subjects had reason to hate. In the authorized version 
mina (fjuva) is given as "pound," though the Babylonian mina was 
a hundred shekels (more than ten pounds), and the Attic mina 
equalled more than four pounds, and "usury" is softened to "inter- 
est" ; but these are mere business details. 

Ch. xix. 28-48 

28 And having spoken thus, he went on before, going up to 
Jerusalem. 29 And it befell, when he drew near to Bethphage 
and Bethany, toward the mountain that is called Olive-grove, 
he sends two of his disciples, 30 saying: 

"Go into the village opposite [you], in which as you enter 
you will find a colt tied, on which no man has ever yet sat. Un- 
tie it, and bring it. 3 1 And if any one asks you, 'Why are you 
untying it?' thus you shall say, 'The Master has need of it.' ' 

32 And they who were sent departed, and found [it] just as 
Iesous had said to them. 33 And as they were untying the colt, 
its masters said to them : 



786 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

"Why are you untying the colt?" 

34 And they said : 

"The Master has need of it." 

35 And they brought it to Iesous; and they cast their cloaks 
on the colt, and put Iesous upon it. 36 And as he went, they 
were strewing their cloaks on the road. 37 And as he was now 
drawing near, [being] on the slope of the mountain of the olive- 
trees, the whole crowd of his disciples began to rejoice and 
praise God with a loud voice for all the magic works they had 
seen, 38 saying: 

" 'Blessed is he who is coming/ 
The King, 'in the Master's name' ; 

Peace in the heaven-world, 

And glory among the highest 1" 

39 And some of the Pharisees from the crowd said to him: 
"Teacher, reprove your disciples." 

40 And he answered and said [[to them]] : 

"I say to you, if these [people] should be silent, the stones will 
cry out." 

41 And when he drew near, on seeing the city he wept over it, 
42 saying: 

"If you, even you, had known in this day the things that [make] 
for peace — but now they are hidden from your eyes! 43 For your 
enemies shall cast up a rampart around you, and encircle you, and 
confine you on every side, 44 and shall level' you 'to the ground,' 
and 'your children' in you ; and they shall not leave in you one stone 
upon [another] stone ; because you did not know the season of your 
visitation." 

45 And he entered into the temple, and began to drive out 
those selling [[and buying in it]], 46 saying to them: 

"It is wTitten, 'And my house shall be a house of prayer' ; but you 
have made it 'a den of robbers.' " 

47 And he was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief-priests 
and the scribes and the prominent men of the people were seeking 
to destroy him : 48 and they could not devise what they might do ; 
for the people were all hanging on him, listening. 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 787 

COMMENTARY 

The text here varies but slightly from that of Mark, but the com- 
piler has sought to embellish the account of the entry into Jerusalem 
by adding to it the words of lamentation uttered by Iesous and his 
prophecy of the city's downfall. The interpolated passage is ob- 
scure in meaning and curiously worded: the word here translated 
"rampart" means either a pale or a palisaded camp, and by gram- 
matical construction the expression "level to the ground" applies to 
the "children" as well as to the "stones." The compiler has omitted 
the nondescript word "hosanna" no doubt because he recognized 
that it was spurious Hebrew. 

Chapter xx. 1-40 

1 And it befell on one of [[those]] days, that, as he was 
teaching the people in the temple, and proclaiming the good 
tidings, the chief-priests and the scribes, with the elders, came 
up, 2 and spoke, saying to him: 

"Tell us by what authority you are doing these things, or 
who it is who gave you this authority." 

3 And he answered and said to them: 

"I also shall put to you a question as to [ [one] ] doctrine ; and 
tell me, 4 Was the lustral-rite of Ioannes from the heaven- 
world, or from men?" 

5 And they argued among themselves, saying : 

"Should we say, 'From the heaven-world/ he will say, 
4 [ [Then] ] why did you not believe him?' 6 But should we say, 
'From men/ all the people will stone us; for they are persuaded 
that Ioannes was a seer." 

7 And they answered that they did not know from what 
source [the rite was derived]. 8 And Iesous said to them: 

"Neither do I tell you by what authority I am doing these 
things." 

9 And he began to speak to the people this allegory : 

"A man planted a vineyard, and leased it to husbandmen, and 
went travelling abroad for a long time. 10 And at the season 



788 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

he sent to the husbandmen a slave, that they might give him 
of the fruit of the vineyard ; but the husbandmen beat him, and 
sent him away empty. 1 1 And he sent yet another slave ; and 
him also they beat, and dishonored, and sent him away empty. 
12 And he sent yet a third; and him also they wounded, and 
threw him out. 13 And the master of the vineyard said : 

" 'What shall I do? I will send my beloved son; probably 
they will revere him [[when they see him]].' 

14 "But the husbandmen, when they saw him, argued among 
themselves, saying : 

" 'This is the heir ; come, let us kill him, that the inheritance 
may become ours.' 

1 5 "And they threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 
What, therefore, will the master of the vineyard do to them? 
16 He will come and destroy these husbandmen, and will give 
the vineyard to others." 

And when they heard it they said : 

"Surely not!" 

1 7 But he, looking at them, said : 

"What, then, is this which is written : 

'The stone which the builders rejected, 

The same has become the head of the comer' ? 

18 Every one who falls on that stone shall be crushed together; 
but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will winnow him." 

19 And the scribes and the chief-priests sought to lay their 
hands on him in that very hour ; and they feared the people : for 
they perceived that he spoke this allegory against them. 

20 And they watched him, and sent suborned agents, who feigned 
themselves to be pious, that they might seize on his doctrine, so as 
to hand him over to the magistracy and the authority of the gov- 
ernor. 21 And they put to him a question, saying: 

"Teacher, we know that you say and teach rightly, and do not 
trust to external appearance, but in truth teach the path of God. 
22 Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not?" 

23 But he perceived their craftiness, and said to them : 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 789 

"[[Why do you put me to a test?]] 24 Show me a denarius. 
Whose image and inscription has it?" 
And they [[answered and]] said: 
"Caesar's." 

25 And he said to them : 

"Render therefore to Caesar the things due to Caesar, and to God 
the things due to God." 

26 And they were not able to seize on his saying before the peo- 
ple ; and they wondered at his answer, and were silent. 

27 And to him came some of the Sadducees (who say there is 
no resurrection) ; 28 and they put to him a question, saying: 

"Teacher, Moses wrote to us, 'If any one's brother should die,' 
having a wife, 'and he should [[d?V]] childless' that c his brother 
should take the wife, and raise up seed for his brother/ 29 There 
were, then, seven brothers ; and the first took a wife and died child- 
less ; 30 and the second [ [took the wife, and he died childless] ] ; 
31 and the third took her; and likewise the seven also left no chil- 
dren, and died. 32 Afterward the woman also died. 33 In the 
resurrection, then, of which one of them does she become the wife? 
For the seven had her to wife." 

34 And Iesous [[answered and]] said to them: 

"The sons of this aeon marry, and [its daughters] are given 
in marriage; 35 but they who are deemed worthy to attain to 
that aeon, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry 
nor are given in marriage; 36 for neither can they die any 
more ; for they are the same as Divinities, and are Sons of God, 
being Sons from the resurrection. 37 But that the dead are raised, 
even Moses revealed, in [the allegory about] the Thorn-bush, when 
he called 'the Master the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, 
and the God of Jacob/ 38 Now, he is not the God of the dead, but 
of the living; for all live in him." 

39 And some of the scribes, answering, said : 
"Teacher, you have spoken well." 

40 For they had not the audacity any more to ask him any ques- 
tion. 



790 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

COMMENTARY 

All this portion of the "history" follows Mark, incident for inci- 
dent, and almost word for word. But the story of the barren fig- 
tree, which precedes it in Mark, has been omitted by the compiler 
of Luke, probably because he noticed that it was reminiscent of the 
fig-tree growing beside the road to Eleusis. The colloquy between 
Iesous and the scribe (Mark xii. 28-34) has also been rejected, the 
compiler evidently regarding it as pointless, or else disapproving 
of the point if he saw it. 

Ch. xx. 41-47 
41 And he said to them : 

"How say they that the Anointed is David's son ? 42 For David 
himself says in the Book of Psalms: 

'The Master said to my Master, 
"Sit thou at my right hand, 
43 Till I place thine enemies as a footstool for thy feet." ' 

44 David, then, calls him 'Master' ; and how is he his son?" 

45 And as all the people were listening, he said to his disciples : 

46 "Beware of the scribes, who are fond of walking about in 
flowing robes, and love salutations in the market-places, and front 
seats at the synagogues, and prominent places at the dinners; 47 
who devour widows' houses even while in pretence they pray at 
great length. These shall receive a more severe sentence." 

Chapter xxi 

1 And he looked up, and saw the rich throwing their gifts into 
the treasury. 2 And he saw a certain needy widow throwing in 
there two very small copper coins. 3 And he said : 

"Truly I say to you, This widow, wretchedly poor, has thrown 
in more than all [the others] ; 4 for [[all]] these threw out of 
their superabundance into the gifts [ [of God]] ; but she, out of her 
want, has thrown in all the living which she had." 

5 And as certain ones were speaking about the temple, that 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 791 

it was ornamented with beautiful stones and votive offerings, 
he said : 

6 "As for these things which you are beholding, the days 
will come in which there shall not be left a stone upon [an- 
other] stone, which shall not be thrown down." 

7 And they asked him, saying : 

"Teacher, when, therefore, shall these things be, and what 
shall be the sign when these things are about to befall?" 

8 And he said : 

"Beware that you are not misled : for many will come in my 
name, saying, 'I am [the Anointed],' and, 'The season has 
drawn near' ; do not go after them. 9 And when you shall be 
hearing of wars and tumults, do not be dismayed; for these 
things must inevitably happen first; but the completion is not 
immediately." 

10 Then he said to them: 

" 'Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against king- 
dom' ; 11 and there shall be great earthquakes, and, according to 
the places, famines and pestilences ; and there shall be dread portents 
and great signs from the sky. 12 But before all these things, they 
will put their hands on you, and will persecute you, handing you 
over to the synagogues and prisons, as prisoners arraigned before 
kings and governors, on account of my name. 13 But it shall 
result to you for a testimony. 14 Settle it, therefore, in your hearts, 
not to premeditate [what] to say in your defence: 15 for I shall 
give you a mouth, and cleverness, which all your opponents will not 
be able to withstand or to contradict. 16 But you shall be handed 
over even by parents, and brothers, and relatives, and friends ; and 
they shall put [some] of you to death. 17 And because of my 
name you will be hated by all. 18 And not a hair of your head 
shall perish. 19 You shall gain your souls by your patient endur- 
ance. 20 But when you see Jerusalem being encircled with 
armies, then know that her desolation has drawn near. 21 
Then let those who are in Judaea flee to the mountains, and let those 
in her midst go out and away from [her] ; and let not those who are 
in the rural districts enter into her. 22 For these are 'days of re- 



792 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

venging,' that all the things which are written may be fulfilled. 23 
[ [But]] woe to pregnant women and women with babe at breast in 
those days! For there shall be great calamity on the earth, and 
wrath to this people. 24 And they shall fall by the edge of the 
sword, and shall be led captive into all the heathens; and 'Jerusa- 
lem' shall be 'trampled on by the heathens/ until the seasons of the 
heathens are fulfilled. 25 And there shall be signs in the sun and 
moon and stars; and on the earth [there shall be] anguish of hea- 
thens in perplexity at the roar and surge of the sea, 26 men swoon- 
ing from terror and anticipation of the things which are coming on 
the habitable earth: for ( the powers of the skies shall be shaken.' 
2j And then they shall see 'the Son of man coming in a cloud,' 
with power and great glory. 28 But when these things begin to 
happen, look up, and lift up your heads; because your ransoming 
is drawing near." 

29 And he spoke to them an allegory : 

"Behold the fig-tree, and all the trees : 30 when they are 
already sprouting, on seeing it you know of your own selves 
that the summer is now drawing near. 31 So you, also, when 
you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God 
is near. 32 Amen, I say to you, This generative-cycle shall not 
at all pass away until all these things shall have happened. 33 The 
sky and the earth shall pass away, but my doctrine shall not pass 
away. 34 But take heed to yourselves, lest ever your hearts be 
oppressed with a debauch, and strong drink, and the troubles of this 
life, and unforeseen that day come upon you as a snare: 35 for 
it shall come upon all 'those dwelling on' the face of all 'the earth.' 
36 Watch, therefore, at every season, and beseech [God] at every 
season that you may succeed in escaping all these things which are 
about to happen, and in standing before the Son of man." 

37 And every day he was teaching in the temple ; and every night 
he went forth, and stayed out at the mountain that is called Olive- 
grove. 38 And all the people came with the dawn to him in the 
temple, to hear him. [ [And they went each to his own house ; but 
Iesous went to the mountain of the olive-trees. Now, at daybreak 
he came again to the temple, [ [and all the people came to him, and 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 793 

he sat down and taught them]]. And the scribes and the Pharisees 
bring [ [to him] ] a woman caught in adultery, and making her 
stand before all, they say to him : 

"Teacher, this woman has been caught committing adultery, in 
the very act. Now, in the law Moses commanded [[us]] to stone 
such. What, then, do you say [[about her]] ?" 

[[Now, they said this to test him, so that they might be able to 
bring a charge against him.]] But Iesous stooped down and with 
his finger wrote on the ground. But when they kept asking 
[[him]], he lifted up [his head], and said [[to them]] : 

"He among you who is unerring, let him first hurl the stone at 
her." 

And again he stooped down and [ [with his finger] ] wrote on the 
ground. And they, when they heard his answer, [ [were confuted 
by their conscience, and they] ] went out one by one, beginning from 
the older ones; [[all departed, even to the meanest ones]]; and 
[[Iesous]] was left alone, and the woman [[standing]] in the 
midst. And Iesous lifted up [his head], [[and seeing no one but 
the woman]], said to her: 

"Woman, where are they, [ [your accusers] ] ? Did no one pass 
sentence [of death] upon you?" . 

And she said : 

"No one, Master." 

And Iesous said to her : 

"Neither do I pass sentence upon you. Go your way, and from 
this time onward sin no more."]] 

Chapter xxii. 1-6 

1 Now, the feast of unleavened bread was drawing near (which 
is called "passover"). 2 And the chief-priests and the scribes were 
seeking how they might put him to death; for they were afraid of 
the people. 3 And the Adversary entered into Ioudas, who is called 
Iskariotes, being of the number of the twelve. 4 And he went 
away, and talked with the chief -priests and the military command- 
ers, how he might hand him over to them. 5 And they rejoiced, 
and agreed to give him money. 6 And he promised; and he kept 



794 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

seeking an opportunity to hand him over to them away from the 
crowd. 

COMMENTARY 

The story of the woman taken in adultery is not found in the 
oldest manuscripts of the New Testament, and is likewise lacking 
in most of the later ones ; with many textual variations, it is given 
in some manuscripts in the place accorded it in the received text, 
John vii. 53-viii. n, where it fits the context. In ten manuscripts 
it is placed at the end of John, disconnected from the narrative, and 
in four it is given in Luke xxi, as above. But the story was cer- 
tainly not written by the compiler of Luke: it has none of the pecu- 
liarities of his literary style, and its ethical tone is too high for his 
perverted moral sense. The answer .made by Iesous to the woman's 
accusers is unintentionally humorous ; for 6 d^a/xapr^ros may be 
understood either as "he who is guiltless" or in the literal sense as 
"he whose aim is unerring." 

Here, as usual, the compiler has merely reproduced the text of 
Mark, varying it slightly to suit his own notions. The long dis- 
course on the destruction of Jerusalem and the second coming of 
Iesous was delivered on the mountain of the olive-trees, according 
to the other Synoptics, and with only the disciples as listeners; but 
the compiler of Luke, not approving of so small an audience, leaves 
it to be inferred that the discourse was given in public at the temple. 
He is not to be commended for making this change, though he 
shows far better judgment in rejecting the implausible and repul- 
sive story of the woman who anointed the head of Iesous to pre- 
pare him for burial, the truer version of the story being in vii. 36- 
50. The compiler also recognized that the "betrayal" of Iesous is 
a weak spot in the history; for he tried to strengthen it by the 
statement that Ioudas was looking for an opportunity to betray his 
Master when the crowd was not present to interfere. His explana- 
tion, however, is awkwardly worded; and it fails to bridge the 
difficulty. The priests needed no assistance from Ioudas, for they 
could easily have followed Iesous to the mountain of the olive- 
trees ; and when they did arrest him they came accompanied by "a 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 795 

great multitude" of armed men. Again, in making the military 
officers (strategoi) fellow-conspirators with the priests the com- 
piler has not added to the speciousness of the "history" ; for there 
is nothing elsewhere in the narrative to indicate that the military 
authorities took any interest in the matter. 

Ch. xxii. 7-23 

7 And the feast of unleavened bread came, in which the 
[young ram of the] passover must be sacrificed. 8 And he sent 
Petros and Ioannes, saying: 

"Go and make ready the passover for us, that we may eat." 

9 But they said to him : 

"Where do you wish that we should make ready?" 

10 And he said to them: 

"Behold, when you have entered into the city, a man bearing 
a pitcher of water will meet you ; follow him into the house into 
which he goes. 1 1 And you shall say to the lord of the house, 
'The Teacher says, "Where is the dining-room, where I may 
eat the passover with my disciples?" 12 And he will show 
you a large upper room spread [with tables and couches]. 
There make ready." 

13 And they went, and found [the water-bearer], just as he 
had said to them; and they made ready the passover. 

14 And when the hour arrived, he reclined [at table], and 
the [[twelve]] apostles with him. 15 And he said to them: 

"With longing I have longed to eat this passover with you be- 
fore I suffer. 16 For I say to you, I shall not eat it [ [any more] ] 
until [that which it prefigures'] is fulfilled in the kingdom of God." 

17 And he received a wine-cup, and when he had given 
thanks he said: 

"Take this, and divide it among yourselves: 18 for I say to 
you, I shall not, from now on, drink of the produce of the vine 
until the kingdom of God has come." 

19 And he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given 
thanks he broke it in pieces, and gave [the portions] to them, 
saying : 



796 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

"This is my body [[which is offered up [as a sacrifice] for 
you; do this in commemoration of me." 20 And he took the 
cup in like manner, after having dined, saying: "This cup is the 
new covenant, [ratified] in my blood, the [blood] which is 
poured out for you"]]. 21 Moreover, behold, the hand of him 
who is handing me over is with me on the table. 22 For the 
Son of man indeed goes [to his death], even as it has been des- 
tined; but woe to that man through whom he is handed over!" 

23 And they began to discuss among themselves [this subject], 
namely, who might it be of them who was about to do this thing. 

COMMENTARY 

Here two cups, apparently, are used in the ceremony, and the dis- 
cussion concerning the betrayal comes after the disciples had eaten, 
and not, as in the other Synoptics, while they were dining. But the 
second cup is mentioned only in a forgery which has been unskil- 
fully wedged into the text, and which breaks the continuity of the 
narrative ; probably the same cup was intended. The interpolation 
gives a theological interpretation, exoteric and false, of the meaning 
of the sacred ceremony. 

Ch. xxii. 24-30 

24 And there arose also a contention among them, namely, 
which of them is reputed to be greater. 25 And he said to 
them: 

"The kings of the profane are their masters, and those ex- 
ercising authority over them are called 'Benefactors.' 26 But 
you [shall] not [be] so; but he who is the greater among you, 
let him become as the younger, and he who commands, as the 
servant. 27 For which is greater, he who reclines [at table], 
or the servant? Is not he who reclines? But I am in the midst 
of you as the servant. 28 But you are they who have remained 
constant with me in my trials; 29 and I assign to [each of] 
you, as my Father has assigned to me, a kingdom, 30 that you 
may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom; and you shall 
sit on [twelve] thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 797 

COMMENTARY 

The word "greater" (meison) is here opposed to "younger" 
(neoteros) ; it is also thus used elsewhere in the sense of "older" 
or "more mature." The disciples, as the Regents of the twelve 
zodiacal signs, are not all of the same dignity. Thus Ioudas out- 
ranks the others ; and though the forgers have made him out to be 
a "traitor," they have neglected to deprive him of his "kingdom" ; 
for even after announcing the coming "betrayal," Iesous declares 
that the disciples will rule the twelve tribes, and certainly he has no 
intention of dethroning Ioudas, his alter ego who dips in the same 
bowl with him. In Matthew xix. 28 the promise of Iesous is that 
the disciples "shall sit upon twelve thrones" ; here in Luke the word 
"twelve," preceding "thrones," has been expunged from the text, 
but without affecting the sense of the passage, since the twelve 
tribes could not very well be reduced to eleven. 

Ch. xxii. 31-34 

31 [ [And the Master said] ] : 

"Simon, Simon, behold, the Adversary demanded to have you, 
that he might sift you as wheat; 32 but I besought [God] con- 
cerning you, that your faith may not fail; and do you, when you 
have repented, confirm your brothers." 

33 And he said to him : 

"Master, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to 
death." 

34 And he said: 

"I say to you, Petros, The cock shall not crow to-day until 
thrice you shall utterly deny knowing me." 

COMMENTARY 

Simon's denial of his Master merely indicates his nature as one of 
the noetic powers. Although only Ioudas and Simon are made 
prominent in this discussion concerning the relative rank and mer- 
its of the disciples, the allegory might very well have contained a 
similar story about each of the twelve disciples. As Simon and 



798 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Andreas are paired, what is said about Simon applies to Andreas 
as well. The request of the other pair, Ioannes and Iakobos, to be 
seated on the thrones at the right and left of Iesous, should be 
included in the conversation at this "last supper" ; hence the disciples 
who personify the pranas, or Detic powers, are brought into the 
discussion. The seven disciples who personify the tattvas, and are 
therefore necessarily feminine, have been eliminated from the nar- 
rative except when mentioned collectively with "the twelve," and in 
the list of the twelve, where they are given masculine names, four of 
which, Andreas, Simon, Iakobos and Ioudas, are merely duplicates. 

Ch. xxii. 35-38 

35 And he said to them : 

"When I sent you forth without purse, and provision-bag, and 
sandals, did you lack anything?" 
And they said : 
"Nothing." 

36 And he said to them : 

"Now, however, he who has a purse, let him take it, likewise also 
a provision-bag; and he who has no sword, let him sell his cloak 
and buy one. 37 For I say to you, This [prophecy] which has been 
written must come to an end in me : 'He was enumerated with the 
lawless/ For also that which [is foretold] about me has an end." 

38 And they said : 

"Master, behold, here are two swords." 

And he said : 

"It is enough." 

COMMENTARY 

There is no "mystical sense" hidden in this passage, nor is there 
any other kind of sense to be discovered in it. The last words of 
Iesous on the subject, "It is enough," have idiomatically the force 
of the expression, " 'Nough said." The thing is so badly written 
that only a very ignorant forger could have perpetrated it. How- 
ever flagitious were the literary sins of the original compiler of 
Luke, it is probable that he was innocent of this one. 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 799 

Ch. xxii. 39-71 

39 And going forth, he went, according to his custom, to the 
mountain of the olive-trees; and the disciples also went along 
with him. 40 And having arrived at the place, he said to them : 

"Pray that you do not enter into temptation." 

41 And he was separated from tnem about a stone's throw; 
and he fell on his knees, and prayed, 42 saying: 

"Father, if thou art willing, remove this cup from me ; however, 
not my will, but thine, be accomplished." 

[[43 And there appeared to him a Divinity from the sky, 
strengthening him. 44 And being in agony, he prayed more fer- 
vently, and his sweat became just like clots of blood falling down 
to the earth.]] 45 And having risen up from prayer, he came 
to the disciples, and found them sleeping from grief, 46 and 
he said to them: 

"Why do you slumber? Rise up, and pray, that you may 
not enter into temptation." 

47 While he was yet speaking, behold, a crowd, and he who 
was called Ioudas, one of the twelve, was going before them; 
and he drew near to Iesous to kiss him. 48 But Iesous said 
to him : 

"Ioudas, do you hand over the Son of man with a kiss?" 

49 And [the disciples] who were around him, when they saw 
what was about to happen, said [ [to him] ] : 

"Master, shall we strike with the sword?" 

50 And a certain one of them struck the high-priest's slave, and 
took off his right ear. 5 1 But Iesous answered and said : 

"Let them alone, even to this." 

And he touched his ear, and healed him. 52 And Iesous said 
to the chief-priests, and military commanders of the temple, 
and elders, who were come against him : 

"Have you come out, as against a bandit, with swords and 
clubs? 53 When I was daily with you in the temple, you did 
not stretch out your hands against me; but this is your hour, 
and the power of darkness." 



800 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

54 And they apprehended him, and led [him away] , and led 
him to the high-priest's house. And Petros kept following at a 
distance. 55 And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of 
the court, and had sat down together, Petros sat down in the 
midst of them. 56 And a certain slave-girl saw him sitting at 
the fire, and looking intently on him, said: 

"This [man] was with him." 

57 But he denied, saying: 
"Woman, I do not know him." 

58 And after a little, another saw him, and said: 
"You also are [one] of them." 

But Petros said: 
"Man, I am not." 

59 And when about one hour had elapsed, a certain other 
[man] strongly affirmed: 

"Really this [man] was with him; for he is a Galilaean." 

60 But Petros said: 

"Man, I do not know what you are saying." 

And immediately, while he was yet speaking, the cock crowed. 
61 And the Master turned, and looked at Petros. And Petros 
remembered the saying of the Master, how he said to him, 
"Before the cock crows this day you shall deny me thrice." 62 
And he went outside, and wept bitterly. 

63 And the men who were holding [[Iesous]] made sport 
of him, and beat him: 64 and having blindfolded him, they 
kept [ [slapping his face and] ] asking him, saying, "Divine, who 
is he who struck you?" 65 And many other things they abu- 
sively said to him. 

66 And when day dawned, the body of the elders of the peo- 
ple was gathered together, both chief-priests and scribes, and 
they led him away to their council, saying: 

6y "If you are the Anointed, tell us." 

But he said to them : 

"If I should tell you, you would not at all believe [me] ; 68 and 
if I [[also]] should ask [you], you would not at all answer me, 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 801 

[[nor let me go]]. 69 But henceforth 'the Son of man' shall be 
'sitting on the right hand o x the Power of God/ " 

70 And they all said : 

"Are you, then, the Son of God?" 
And he said to them: 
"You say that I am." 

71 And they said: 

"What further need have we of witnesses? For we our- 
selves have heard [the impious assertion] from his [own] 
mouth." 

Chapter xxiii. 1-4 

1 And the whole multitude of them rose up, and led him to 
Pilate. 2 And they began to accuse him, saying: 

"We found this [man] turning aside the nation [from their 
allegiance], and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, and say- 
ing that he. himself is an Anointed King." 

3 And Pilate questioned him, saying: 
"You are the king of the Jews?" 
And he, answering, said to him: 
"You say [it]." 

4 And Pilate said to the chief-priests and the crowds : 
"I find nothing criminal in this man." 

COMMENTARY 

The enclosed field, Gethsemane, is not mentioned in this narra- 
tive; Iesous does not permit Ioudas to kiss him; the young man 
with the linen cloth fails to appear, and the story of Simon's denial 
is given a more prominent position and an added flourish. But 
it is clear that the compiler has merely rewritten the text of Mark, 
making fanciful changes, and attempting, in bad taste and with 
ruinous results, to improve upon its literary style. 

Ch. xxiii. 5-16 

5 But they kept insisting [on their accusation], saying: 

"He is stirring up the people, teaching throughout the whole of 
Judaea, and beginning from Galilee even to this place." 



802 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

6 But when Pilate heard [this] he asked whether the man was 
a Galikean. 7 And when he knew that he was from Herod's juris- 
diction he extradited him to Herod, who himself also was in Jeru- 
salem in these days. 8 And Herod, on seeing Iesous, rejoiced 
greatly; for he was for a long time wishing to see him, because of 
hearing [[many things]] about him, and he was hoping to see 
some miracle performed by him. 9 And he questioned him in many 
words; but he answered him nothing. 10 And the chief -priests 
and the scribes stood strenuously accusing him. 11 And Herod, 
with his troops, treated him as of no account, and played a childish 
game on him, clothing him in splendid garments [as befitting a 
king], and sent him back to Pilate. 12 And both Pilate and Herod 
became friends with each other on that very day ; for formerly they 
were living at enmity between themselves. 

13 And Pilate, having called together the chief-priests and the 
rulers and the people, 14 said to them: 

"You have brought to me this man, as one who is turning aside 
the people [from their allegiance] ; and behold, I have conducted 
the trial [of him] before you, and I have found nothing criminal 
in this man [in relation to the crimes] of which you bring accusa- 
tion against him: 15 but even Herod [did] not; for he sent him 
back to us, and behold, nothing worthy of death has been done by 
him! 16 I shall therefore discipline him, and release him." 

COMMENTARY 

This story is not even plausible fiction : at every turn it shows the 
crude working of a mind incapable of originality and untrained in 
accurate thought — a mind that, in trying to exercise the inventive 
faculty, merely revives old impressions and is blindly led by the 
association of ideas. Thus the statement, copied from Mark, that 
Simon was recognized to be a Galilsean suggested the idea that 
Iesous was under Herod's jurisdiction. It had already been said 
(ix. 7-9) that Herod, having heard of the miracles performed by 
Iesous, desired to see him. But Iesous could not be sent to Galilee 
and be brought back in time for the crucifixion, so Herod must be 
opportunely in Jerusalem. Herod and his soldiers mock Iesous as 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 803 

the other soldiers had done, and Pilate is so pleased at the original- 
ity of the joke that the two rulers become good friends. The story, 
so far from resembling anything historical, betrays the mental pov- 
erty of an amateur writer of fiction : it is peculiar to Luke and is 
evidently from the same hand that penned the Acts. 

Ch. xxiii. 17-49 

[[17 Now, he was under necessity to release to them at a fes- 
tival one [prisoner].]] 18 But they one and all cried out: 

"Away with this [man], and release to us Barabbas!" 
19 (one who, for a certain insurrection started in the city, and 
for murder, was thrown into prison). 20 And -Pilate addressed 
them again, wishing to release Iesous; 21 but they kept 
shouting, saying: 

"Crucify [him] ! Crucify him!" 

22 And he said to them the third time : 

"Why, what offence has this [man] committed? I have 
found nothing criminal in him, [deserving] of the death-sen- 
tence. I shall therefore discipline him, and release him." 

23 But they kept insisting, with loud voices, asking that he 
should be crucified. And their voices [[and the [voices] of the 
chief-priests]] prevailed. 24 And Pilate adjudged that their 
request should be granted. 25 And he released [[to them]] 
the [prisoner] who for insurrection and murder had been 
thrown into prison, whom they asked for; but he handed over 
Iesous to their will. 

26 And as they led him away, they laid hold on Simon, a 
certain Cyrensean, coming from a field, and put upon him the 
cross, to bear it after Iesous. 2j And there were following 
him a great throng of the people ; also women, who were beat- 
ing their breasts and bewailing him. 28 And Iesous turned 
to them, and said: 

"Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for 
yourselves, and for your children. 29 For behold, the days 
are coming in which they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, and the 
bellies that have not borne, and the breasts that have not given suck !' 



>> ) 



804 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

30 Then they will begin to 'say -to the mountains/ ' "Fall on us! 
'and to the hills/ '"Cover us!"' 31 For if they are doing these 
things in the sapful tree, what will happen in the sapless one?" 

32 And two others also, [who were] malefactors, were led 
with him to be put to death. 33 And when they came to the 
place which is called "The Skull," there they crucified him, and 
the malefactors, one at the right hand, and the other at the left. 
34 [ [And Iesous said : 

"Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."]] 

"And sorting out and distributing his garments among them, 
they threw dice." 35 And the people stood beholding. And the 
[priests who were] leaders also [ [with] ] them were sneering 
at him, saying: 

"He saved others; let him save himself, if this is God's 
Anointed, the one singled out." 

36 And the soldiers also made sport of him, coming near and 
offering him sour wine, 37 saying: 

"If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself." 

38 And there was also an inscription over him [[in letters 
of Greek and Latin and Hebrew]], "This is the King of the 
Jews." 

39 And one of the malefactors who had been suspended 
spoke abusively to him, saying: 

"Are you not the Anointed [King] ? Save yourself and us." 

40 But the other reproved him, saying : 

"Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same 
sentence? 41 And we indeed justly; for we are receiving [our] 
deserts for [the deeds] which we did; but this [man] has done 
nothing out of place." 42 And he said : "Iesous, remember me 
when you come into your kingdom." 

43 And [[Iesous]] said to him: 

"Amen, I say to you, To-day you shall be with me in the 
Garden [of God]." 

44 And it was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came 
over the whole earth until the ninth hour, 45 the sun being 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 805 

eclipsed; and the curtain of the sanctuary was torn in the mid- 
dle. 46 And Iesous cried out with a loud voice, and said: 

"Father, 'into thy hands I entrust my spirit' !" 

And having said this, he expired. 47 And when the cen- 
turion saw what had happened he glorified God, saying': 

"Really this was an innocent man." 

48 And all the crowds who were come together to this spectacle, 
when they beheld the things which happened, returned beating their 
breasts, [[saying: 

"Woe to us, such things have been done to-day on account of our 
sins; now the desolation of Jerusalem draws near!"] 

49 And all his friends, and the women who had followed in com- 
pany with him from Galilee, stood afar off, looking at these things. 

COMMENTARY 

The incident in which Iesous is treated as a mock king by the 
soldiers is omitted by the compiler of Luke, as he had squandered 
the idea by weaving it into the fabrication about Iesous being sent 
to Herod. But he fully atones for this by introducing the incident 
of the repentant malefactor, which is indeed a beautiful one, and is 
so essentially a part of the allegory that, although not found in 
Mark, it may be regarded as genuine. The saying, "Father, for- 
give them; for they know not what they do," is also beautiful; but 
it has no good authority in the manuscripts, and it is, apparently, 
spoken of the soldiers, who were not acting on their own volition. 

Needless to say, there was not an eclipse of the sun at the date 
when Iesous is supposed, "historically," to have been crucified. In 
later manuscripts the wording has been changed to "the sun was 
darkened" (io-KOTicrOr)) ; but the true reading unquestionably is 
tov rjXtov iKke'nrovros, "the sun being eclipsed." The rendering in 
the revised version, "the sun's light failing," with a foot-note to the 
effect that the Greek reads, "the sun failing," is hardly more ex- 
cusable than the alteration of the text in some of the Greek manu- 
scripts. Even theologians refuse to believe that the sun was 
eclipsed for three hours. 



806 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

Ch. xxiii. 50-CH. xxiv. 12 

50 And behold, a man named Ioseph, who was a councillor, 
a good and just man — 51 he had not assented to their counsel 
and deed — of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews, who [[also him- 
self] ] was awaiting the kingdom of God : 52 this [man] went 
to Pilate, and asked for the body of Iesous. 53 And he took it 
down and swathed it in a linen cloth, and placed it in a monu- 
ment cut out of stone, where no one was ever yet laid. 54 And 
it was Preparation-day, and the sabbath was dawning. 55 And 
the women, who had come with him out of Galilee, followed 
closely, and saw the monument, and how his body was laid. 56 
And they returned, and prepared aromatics and oil. 57 And 
on the sabbath they rested agreeably to the commandment; 

Chapter xxiv. 1-12 

1 but on the first day of the week, at deep morning twilight, 
they came to the monument, bringing the aromatics [and oil] 

which they had prepared, [[and some [others came] with them]]. 

2 And they found the stone rolled away from [the door] of the 
monument ; 3 but when they entered in they did not find the body 
[[of the Master Iesous]]. 4 And it befell, while they were bewil- 
dered about this, that, behold, two men stood near them [clothed] 
in garments that gleamed as with lightnings ; 5 and as [the wo- 
men] became timorous and bowed down their faces to the earth, 
they said to them : 

"'Why seek ye the Living One among the dead?' 6 [[He is 
not here, but is risen.]] Remember how he spoke to you while he 
was yet in Galilee, 7 saying, 'The Son of man must be handed over 
into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day 
rise [from the dead].' " 

8 And they remembered his words, 9 and returned [[from the 
monument] ] , and reported all these things to the eleven, and to all 
the rest. 10 Now, they were Mariam the temple- woman, and 
loanna, and Mariam the [mother] of Iakobos; and the other women 
with them told these things to the apostles. 11 And these state- 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 807 

ments seemed before them like nonsense; and they disbelieved them. 
[[12 But Petros arose, and ran to the monument, and peeping in 
he sees the linen cloths [lying] alone; and he went away, wondering 
to himself at what had happened.] ] 

COMMENTARY 

Here the women find two men in the tomb, whereas according to 
Mark there was but one man, while according to Matthew there 
was no one in the tomb, but a radiant "angel" descended from the 
sky, rolled away the stone and — probably needing rest after his 
exertions — seated himself before delivering his message. In Luke, 
verse 23 following, the two "men" are termed "angels" — Divinities. 
Now, although modern theology teaches that angels are not men, 
and that men can never become angels, however hopefully Christian 
children may sing, "I want to be an angel," it seems that the com- 
pilers of these Gospels took the opposite view ; for the two mysteri- 
ous persons who appeared in the tomb were certainly angels, yet 
they are called "men." There can be but one true ending to the 
drama of the crucifixion, and that is the resurrection of Iesous him- 
self as a God— an "angel." But that ending did not suit the pur- 
pose of the priests who turned the allegory into a history. The 
allegorical story of Iesous is that of a mortal who attained to con- 
scious immortality, and with that attainment the story naturally 
ends. But according to the "historical" travesty Iesous was a God 
from the moment of his birth; hence the final scene of the drama 
had to be rewritten. Three historians having performed that task 
independently — or, rather, two of them having thus revised the 
work of the first — it is but natural that the three accounts should 
be conflicting. Yet even while trying to conceal the fact that Iesous 
at his resurrection manifested as a resplendent Immortal, the crude 
mentality of the forger could not refrain from reproducing, in some 
form, the idea of a divine apparition at the resurrection : therefore 
one forger, though substituting "a young man" for Iesous, clothes 
him in a white robe ; another replaces him by two men whose gar- 
ments emit a dazzling light, and another has an "angel" descend 
from the sky. Each of these accounts partly reproduces what must 



808 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

have been the description of the apparition given in the original 
text— that of Iesous transformed into a God, a man spiritually per- 
fected, reborn in the effulgent body which with changeless youth 
and beauty gives outer seeming to the deathless Self. Thus the 
hero of the sacred drama becomes the Lord Dionysos. 

Ch. xxiv. 13-32 

13 And behold, two of them were going on that very day to a 
village, the name of which is Emmaus, distant sixty stadia from 
Jerusalem; 14 and they were conversing with one another about 
all these things which had occurred. 15 And it befell, as they were 
conversing and arguing, that Iesous himself drew near, and accom- 
panied them; 16 but their eyes were restrained, that they should 
not recognize him. 17 And he said to them : 

"What are these words which you are bandying with one another 
as you walk, [[and are glum-visaged] ] ?" 

18 And one [of them], named Kleopas, said to him: 

"Do you reside as a solitary stranger in Jerusalem, and have not 
known of the happenings in it in these days ?" 

19 And he said to them : 
"What happenings ?" 
And they said to him : 

"The things concerning Iesous the Nazarene, who appeared as a 
prophet, mighty in deed and word before God and all the people; 
20 and how the chief-priests and our rulers handed him over to 
sentence of death, and crucified him. 21 But we were hoping that 
it was he who was about to ransom Israel. Yet surely also, with 
all these things, [the nation] is observing [the feast] on this third 
day since these things took place. 22 And withal certain women 
from among us astounded us : they, having arrived early at the 
monument, 23 and not having found his body, came saying that 
they had also seen a vision of Divinities, who say that he is living. 
24 And some of those who are with us went to the monument, and 
found it so, just as the women said; but they did not see him." 

25 And he said to them : 

"O unintelligent [men], and slow in heart to believe in all which 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 809 

the prophets have spoken ! 26 Was it not inevitable for the Anointed 
to suffer these things, and to enter into his glory?" 

2j And beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he in- 
terpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. 
28 And they drew near to the village where they were going; and 
he feigned to be going farther. 29 And they constrained him, 
saying : 

"Stay with us; for it is towards evening, and the day has de- 
clined." 

And he went in to stay with them. 30 And it befell, when he 
had reclined [at table] with them, that he took the loaf of bread 
and blessed it; and having broken it in pieces, he gave [the por- 
tions] to them. 31 And their eyes were opened, and they recog- 
nized him. And he became invisible, [vanishing] from them. 32 
And they said to one another : 

"Was not our heart burning [[in us]], as he was speaking to us 
on the road, [[and]] as he was opening to us the scriptures?" 

COMMENTARY 

Josephus speaks of a village named Emmaus that was thirty stadia 
from Jerusalem; but as that distance was too short for the above 
story, the historian Luke has stretched it to sixty stadia. 

According to Luke's version, the resurrection of Iesous was sim- 
ply the reanimation of his physical body. He walks out of the 
tomb, and on meeting two of his disciples casts a glamour over 
their eyes, so that they can not recognize him. One of these two 
disciples bears the Greek name Kleopas, which is probably a con- 
traction of Kleopatros; he is here mentioned for the first time, and 
his companion is not named. Having deceived these disciples by 
a magical trick, Iesous pretends to be ignorant of the tragic events 
in which he himself has been the chief actor; by this simple device 
he draws out from the two disciples (who seem to speak in con- 
cert) a prosy account of the things that had happened at Jerusalem 
after his departure. When the historian states that Iesous began 
"from Moses and from all the prophets," he means, of course, that 
he began from Moses and went through the prophets. Having in- 



810 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

terested the disciples by this learned discourse, Iesous pretends that 
he is going farther, and by this "white lie" secures an invitation to 
lodge with them; and then, while giving an imitation of the "last 
supper," he reveals himself. This is the cheapest sort of romance, 
and it deplorably profanes the majesty of the Crucified. 

Ch. xxiv. 33-53 

33 And they rose up that very hour, and returned to Jerusalem ; 
and they found the eleven assembled, and those who were with 
them, 34 saying: 

"The Master is really risen, and has appeared to Simon." 

35 And they narrated the things [which had happened] on the 
road, and how he was known to them in the breaking of the loaf. 
36 And as they were telling these things, [[Iesous]] himself stood 
in their midst, [ [and says to them : 

"Peace to you."]] 

37 But they were dismayed, and timorous, and imagined they 
were seeing a spirit. 38 And he said to them : 

"Why are you agitated, and wherefore do reasonings spring up 
in your heart? 39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. 
Feel me, and see : for a spirit does not have flesh and bones, just as 
you behold me having [them]." 

[ [40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and 
his feet.]] 41 And while they were still disbelieving for joy, and 
were wondering, he said to them : 

"Have you anything eatable here?" 

42 And they gave him a piece of a broiled fish [[and a honey- 
comb]]. 43 And he took it, and ate it before them. 44 And he 
said to them : 

"These are my words w T hich I spoke to you while I was yet with 
you, that all things must be fulfilled which are written in the law 
of Moses, and the prophets and Psalms, concerning me." 

45 Then he opened their intuitive mind for the understanding 
of the scriptures ; 46 and he said to them : 

"Thus it is written, [[and thus it was inevitable]], that the 
Anointed should suffer [death], and rise from the dead on the third 



THE GOOD TIDINGS ACCORDING TO LUKE 811 

day, 47 and that in his name repentance for remission of sins 
should be proclaimed to all the nations— beginning from Jerusalem. 
48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am send- 
ing out the promise of my Father upon you; but do you remain in 
the city [[of Jerusalem]] until you are clothed with power from 
the heights [of the sky]." 

50 And he led them out as far as to Bethany; and he lifted up 
his hands and blessed them. 51 And it befell, as he was blessing 
them, that he parted from them [ [and was carried up into the sky] ]. 
52 And they [[worshipped him, and]] returned to Jerusalem with 
great joy, 53 and were always in the temple, blessing God. 

COMMENTARY 

After carrying out petty deceptions on the two companions, Iesous 
stealthily follows them to the city, and breaks in upon the group of 
disciples in a manner well calculated to startle them. The words 
he employs to allay their fears might well have the opposite effect, 
increasing their alarm : for his statement is ambiguous. Verse 39, 
translated above in accordance with what the forger evidently in- 
tended to say, may fully as well be construed in a contrary sense ; 
"See my hands and my feet, that (on) it is I myself. Feel me, 
and see that (on) a spirit has not flesh and bones, just as you be- 
hold me having [none]." The heretic Marcion, in the second cen- 
tury, maintained that this is the true meaning. But it is more prob- 
able that the words were meant for a denial of ethereality, in view 
of the fact that Iesous forthwith proceeded to demonstrate his car- 
nality by eating a piece of broiled fish. A later forger has gener- 
ously added honey to the repast. 

Iesous meets the disciples in Jerusalem, commands them to re- 
main in the city till they are "clothed with power," and then parts 
from them, his resurrected physical body floating upward and dis- 
appearing in the zenith. The latter statement has been added by a 
belated historian, who probably thought that the narrative needed a 
finishing touch of absurdity. But according to Matthew (xvi. 32; 
xxviii. 10, 16, 17) the disciples did not meet Iesous until they saw 
him at a mountain in Galilee. It is impossible to reconcile the two 



812 THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 

accounts, and even orthodox faith has not arms long enough to 
fold the two of them in one loving embrace. To accept the Gospels 
as history, the reader must take them one at a time, and while he 
is reading one he must exclude the others from his mind. He can 
expand his faith only by contracting his intellect. 

In the heyday of "orthodoxy," so-called "Harmonies" of the four 
Gospels were compiled, in which attempted explanations were of- 
fered of the many discrepancies found in the writings of the "in- 
spired" disciples who recorded the life of Jesus. But it is now 
recognized by all well-informed critics that the Fourth Gospel is 
distinct from, and inconsistent with, the three Synoptics, and that 
the latter, although derived from a common source, can not possibly 
be harmonized. The mass of literature produced by scholars seek- 
ing to solve the "Synoptic problem" is, for the most part, merely 
destructive; for the spuriousness of much of the text is obvious, 
while that which is true and beautiful in it is obscured. By striking 
out the pseudo-Jewish forgeries, however, and then restoring to 
their proper sequence the Hellenic portions of the text, the narrative 
proves to be a consistent allegory. But the allegory is intelligible 
only when considered as a veiled exposition of the ancient esoteric 
philosophy as taught in the religion of Dionysos, the God of Seer- 
ship and of Spiritual Rebirth. 



GLOSSARY 



Abaddon (Heb. abaddon, "ruin"), 
given in the Apocalypse as a proper 
name, the "Destroyer," God of the Tar- 
tarean Abyss. 

Abyss (Gk. abyssos, "bottomless"), 
a .gulf or pit in Tartaros. In the Iliad 
(viii. 14-16) it is spoken of as a very 
deep gulf (berethron) in Tartaros 
which is "as much below Hades as 
heaven is above the earth." 

Adhishthana (Sk.), the second of 
the force-centres in the human body, 
the prostatic plexus. 

iEon (Gk. aion), a period of time, 
lifetime, generation, age, or any defi- 
nite period. Among the Gnostics the 
^Eons were emanations proceeding 
from the divine essence, and Gods and 
Goddesses. 

iEther (Gk. aither,_trom aithein, "to 
shine"), the same as Akasha, which see. 

Ajna (Sk.), the sixth of the force- 
centres in the human body, the cav- 
ernous plexus. 

Akasha (Sk.), the first differenti- 
ated tattva or subtile element; the di- 
vine primordial substance, heavenly 
aether. 

Amen, claimed theologically to be a 
Hebrew word meaning, as a noun, 
"faith"; as a verbal adjective, "trust- 
worthy" ; and as an adverb, "truly." 
However that may be, it is a word of 
evocation, and as such is practically 
equivalent to the Sanskrit Aum. (See 
Om.) 

Anahata (Sk.), the fourth of the 
force-centres in the human body, the 
cardiac plexus. 

Androgyne (Gk. androgynos, "man- 
woman"), one having the characteris- 
tics of both sexes, an hermaphrodite. 

Apana (Sk.), the downgoing life, 
one of the five pranas. 

Apas (Sk.), the subtile element wa- 
ter. 



Aphrodite (Gk.), the Goddess of 
Love and Beauty; Guardian of the zo- 
diacal sign Taurus, and Regent of the 
planet Venus. She was the daughter 
of Zeus and Dione, and wife of 
Hephaistos. Latin, Venus. 

Apollon (Gk.), the Sun-God; pa- 
tron of augury, music, medicine and 
archery; Guardian of the zodiacal sign 
Gemini. He was the son of Zeus and 
Leto (Lat. Latona), and brother of 
Artemis. Latin, Apollo. 

Aquarius (Lat.; Gk. Hydrochoos), 
the Water-bearer, or Water-pourer, 

(1) one of the zodiacal constellations; 

(2) the eleventh sign of the zodiac. 
Owing to the precession of the equi- 
noxes this sign now contains the con- 
stellation Capricornus. 

Arche (Gk.), first cause, origin, 
germ; first principle or element; the 
primordial substance. 

Ares (Gk.), the God of War; Guar- 
dian of the zodiacal sign Scorpio, and 
Regent of the planet Mars. He was 
the son of Zeus and Hera. Latin, 
Mars. 

Aries (Lat.; Gk. Krios), the Ram, 

(1) one of the zodiacal constellations; 

(2) the first sign of the zodiac. Owing 
to the precession of the equinoxes this 
sign now contains the constellation 
Pisces. 

Artemis (Gk.), the Goddess of 
Hunting and of Childbirth ; Guardian 
of the zodiacal sign Sagittarius. She 
was the daughter of Zeus and Leto 
(Lat. Latona), and sister of Apollon. 
Latin, Diana. She was often identi- 
fied with Selene, the Moon. 

Asklepiadic, pertaining to Asklepios, 
fabled son of Apollon and tutelary 
God of Medicine. 

Astarte (Gk. ; Sem. Ashtoreth), a 
Phoenician Goddess, identified with Ve- 
nus, and also with the zodiacal Virgo. 

Athena (Gk.), the Goddess of Wis- 



813 



814 



THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 



dom and of the Arts ; Guardian of the 
zodiacal sign Aries. From Athena 
and Hephaistos, says Plato {Protag- 
oras, p. 321), Prometheus stole the 
fire and mechanical arts which he gave 
to mankind. She is usually identified 
with the Roman Minerva. 

Atlas (Gk., from Ph. Atel, "Dark- 
ness"), a God who was fabled to up- 
bear the starry vault ; he was a brother 
of the Titan Prometheus ("Fore- 
thought"). 

Augoeides (Gk.), "like light," espe- 
cially the solar radiance; a term ap- 
plied to the solar body. 

Aura (Gk. and Lat.), air in motion; 
the subtile fluid surrounding a material 
body, the aureola. 

Aureola (Lat. aureolus, "golden"), 
the "glory" (doxa) or sphere of light 
(invisible to the physical eyes) sur- 
rounding the human body. 

Autopsia (Gk.), a seeing with one's 
own eyes ; one of the degrees of initia- 
tion. 

Avatar (Sk. avatara, from ava, 
"from," and tri, "to cross over"), a 
divine incarnation; the voluntary de- 
scent to earth of a Savior or divine 
Teacher. 

Avyakta (Sk.), undifferentiated sub- 
stance ; that which is unmanifested. 

Bakchos. (See Dionysos.) 
Brahma (Sk.), the first member of 
the Hindu Trinity, the Evolver of the 
Universe, the Logos ; a name applied 
to the seventh tattva. 

Brahmarandra (Sk., "door of 
God"), a spot in the crown of the head 
whence the sushumna current passes. 

Caduceus (Lat.; Gk. kerukeion), the 
winged and serpent-twisted staff or 
wand of Hermes. 

Cancer (Lat.; Gk. Karkinos), the 
Crab, (1) one of the zodiacal constel- 
lations; (2) the fourth sign of the zo- 
diac. Owing to the precession of the 
equinoxes this sign now contains the 
constellation Gemini. 

Capricornus (Lat. ; Gk. Aigokeros, 
"Goat-horned"), the Goat, (1) one of 
the zodiacal constellations ; (2) the 
tenth sign of the zodiac. Owing to the 



precession of the equinoxes this sign 
now contains the constellation Sagit- 
tarius. 

Caste, an hereditary class of society 
in India, where the people are divided 
arbitrarily into many castes. Originally 
there were but four castes, correspond- 
ing to the four colors of the races- 
white, red, yellow and black— and per- 
sons of mixed blood were outcasts. In 
organized society men naturally fall 
into four classes, as scholars, warriors, 
commercialists and laborers ; and this 
classification was generally recognized 
in antiquity. 

Chakra (Sk.), a disk; any force- 
centre in the body. 

Chiton (Gk.), an undergarment, a 
tunic or loose garment worn by either 
sex. 

Chrestos. (See Christos.) 

Christos (Gk.), a verbal adjective 
meaning "anointed," from chrein, "to 
anoint." "The Anointed," as an ap- 
pellation, signified a King or an Initi- 
ate. In the New Testament the word 
Christos has often been dishonestly 
substituted for Chrestos, "good," "de- 
serving," a term applied to a worthy 
candidate for initiation. As said by 
Lactantiu8 (Lib. IV, cap. vii), "it is 
only through ignorance that men call 
themselves Christians instead of Chres- 
tians." 

Cosmos (Gk. kosmos, "order"), the 
universe as an orderly system. 

Daimon (Gk.), a God; a spirit or 
ghost. 

Daivaprakriti (Sk.), primordial di- 
vine substance. 

Decan (Gk. deka, "ten"), the third 
part, or ten degrees, of each zodiacal 
sign. Each decan had its particular 
star, and the thirty-six stars were as- 
sociated with the thirty-six paranatel- 
lons, or extra-zodiacal constellations. 
For their Graeco-Egyptian names, see 
Julius Firmicus, iv. 16. 

Demeter (Gk.), the Goddess of 
Grain and Tillage; Guardian of the 
zodiacal sign Virgo. She was the 
daughter of Kronos and Ops, and the 
mother of Persephone, and, according 
to some authorities, of Dionysos. Latin, 
Ceres. 



Demiurge (Gk. Dcmiourgos, "artifi- 
cer," "handicraftsman"), in the Pla- 
tonic philosophy, the World-builder, 
the Creative Logos. 

Diabolos (Gk.), a slanderer, false 
accuser; the theological "Devil." 

Dionysos (Gk. ; Assyrian, Dian- 
Nisi, "Judge of Mankind"), the Se- 
mitic Sun-God, whose worship became 
wide-spread in Greece, where he was 
also called Bakchos and Iakchos, from 
iachein, "to cry out joyfully." By some 
he was said to be the son of Zeus and 
Semele ; by others, of Zeus and Deme- 
ter. As the Sun-God he was identical 
with Apollon, and was the God of spir- 
itual inspiration, seership and sacred 
knowledge ; but he was popularly con- 
fused with the indigenous Greek God 
of Wine. Dionysos was reputed to be 
the founder of the Mysteries, and was 
called the Savior, the Twice-born, the 
Healer, the Androgyne, the Fan-bearer, 
or Purifier, among other titles. The 
Iesous of the New Testament is sim- 
ply the solar Dionysos, having the char- 
acteristics of both Apollon and Her- 
mes. 

Eleusinia (Gk.), Mysteries annu- 
ally celebrated in ancient Greece. The 
Greater Eleusinia were held in Septem- 
ber, and the Lesser Eleusinia in Feb- 
ruary. • 

Epistemonic (Gk. epistcmonikos), 
relating to wisdom, positive knowledge, 
or true science. 

Epithumetic (Gk. epithumetikos), 
desiring, lusting. 

Erebos (Gk.), a gloomy intermedi- 
ate region between Earth and Hades 
through which the souls of the dead 
must pass when going to or returning 
from Hades. 

Esoteric (Gk. esoterikos), inner, in- 
timate ; known only to the initiated. 

Exoteric (Gk. exoterikos), external, 
public ; known to the uninitiated. 

Gemini (Lat. ; Gk. Didymoi), the 
Twins, (i) one of the zodiacal constel- 
lations ; (2) the third sign of the zo- 
diac. Owing to the precession of the 
equinoxes this sign now contains the 
constellation Taurus. 

Gnosis (Gk.), knowledge, wisdom; 



GLOSSARY 815 

the sacred science. Ecclesiastical his- 
torians attempt to show that Gnosti- 
cism took its origin from Christianity 
during the first century ; but Gnosti- 
cism certainly existed long before 
Christianity was formulated by the ex- 
oteric priests who fabricated the Gos- 
pels, probably not earlier than the lat- 
ter part of the first century. 

Hades (Gk. "Aifys, probablv from a, 
privative (Eng. un-), and Uelv ) "to 
see"), in Homer, the name of the God 
who was later called Plouton. In post- 
Homeric times the word was applied 
to the unseen world, the grave, and 
death, while Plouton was named as the 
God presiding over the underworld. 

Hekate (Gk.), a Goddess who pre- 
sided over purifying and atoning rites, 
also over popular assemblies, war, the 
rearing of children, etc. She was some- 
times represented as bearing a torch. 
She was supposed to wander about at 
night, and in one aspect was considered 
the patroness of sorcery. She was rep- 
resented as of triple form, because she 
was Selene in heaven, Artemis on 
earth, and Hekate (or Persephone) in 
Hades. 

Helios (Gk.), the sun; the Sun- 
God, identical with Apollon. 

Hephaistos (Gk.), the God of all 
arts in which fire is used ; Guardian 
of the zodiacal sign Libra. He was 
the son of Zeus and Hera, and the hus- 
band of Aphrodite. Latin, Vulcanus, 
Vulcan. 

Hera (Gk.), the Queen of the Gods; 
Guardian of the zodiacal sign Aqua- 
rius. She was the daughter of Kronos 
and Rhea, and the wife of Zeus. Latin, 
Juno. 

Hermes (Gk.), the Shepherd-God, 
and God of all arts and sciences, espe- 
cially of occult wisdom and magic; 
Guardian of the zodiacal sign Cancer, 
and Regent of the planet Mercury. He 
was the Son of Zeus and Maia, even as 
Iesous was the son of the Divine Fa- 
ther and Maria or Mariam. Latin, 
Mercurius, Mercury. 

Hestia (Gk.), the Goddess of the 
Hearth and the Home; Guardian of 
the zodiacal sign Capricornus. She 
was the daughter of Kronos and Rhea. 
Latin, Vesta. 



8i6 



THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 



Hierophant (Gk. hierophantes, "one 
who explains sacred things"), the title 
of the initiator in the Eleusinian Mys- 
teries ; an initiated teacher. 

Hydranos (Gk.), Sprinkler, Bather; 
the title of the hierophant of the Lesser 
Eleusinian Mysteries. 

Ichchha-shakti (Sk.), the power of 
will. 

Ichor (Gk.), the aethereal fluid which 
took the place of blood in the veins of 
the Gods. 

Ida (Sk.), the current of the kun- 
dalini which flows on the left side of 
the human body. 

Initiation, admission to the sacred 
Mysteries, whether by formal instruc- 
tion or by interior illumination. 

Ixion (Gk.), a mythical king of 
Thessaly whom Hermes, by order of 
Zeus, punished for certain crimes by 
binding him to a fiery wheel which 
rolls unceasingly through the air or 
through the underworld. 

Jnana-shakti (Sk.), the power of 
knowledge. 

Kabbala, a system of Jewish The- 
osophy. 

Kama-rupa (Sk.), desire-body; a 
subjective form created through men- 
tal and physical desires and impulses, 
and which survives for a time after the 
death of the physical body. 

Kriya-shakti (Sk.), the occult crea- 
tive potency of thought. 

Kronos (Gk.), the God of Time, the 
name being interpreted as if it were 
chronos; Regent of the planet Saturn, 
which the Greeks sometimes called 
"the star of the Sun," or Helios, "the 
Sun" (Diodoros, ii. 30). Kronos was 
the Sun-God of the Golden Age, but 
was deposed by his sons and banished 
to Tartaros, Zeus reigning in his stead. 
Latin, Cronus and Satumus. 

Kundalini-shakti (Sk.), the power 
that moves in an annular or serpentine 
path ; the basic force of life. 

Kybele (Gk.), a Phrygian Goddess, 
identified with Rhea. 

Lacuna (Lat., "a hollow"), a blank 



space or hiatus in a manuscript where 
one or more words are wanting. 
Leo (Lat.; Gk. Leon), the Lion, 

(1) one of the zodiacal constellations; 

(2) the fifth sign of the zodiac. Ow- 
ing to the precession of the equinoxes 
this sign now contains the constella- 
tion Cancer. 

Libation (Lat. libatio), a drink-of- 
fering, a sacrifice, or act of worship, 
made by pouring liquid (usually wine 
or oil) on the ground in honor of a 
Divinity; the liquid so poured out. 

Libra (Lat; Gk. Chelai, "Claws"). 
the Balance, (1) one of the zodiacal 
constellations ; (2) the seventh sign of 
the zodiac. Owing the precession of 
the equinoxes this sign now contains 
the constellation Virgo. In the most 
ancient known zodiac this .sign was 
represented by the Claws of the Scor- 
pion grasping an Altar ; the Babyloni- 
ans later dropped the Altar from the 
representation, leaving only the dispro- 
portionately large Claws in the sign ; 
and the Greeks, when they adopted the 
Babylonian zodiac, substituted for the 
Claws the Balance, taking the latter 
from the Egyptian zodiac. 

Logos (Gk.), speech and reason, the 
power of the mind expressed by speech ; 
the Divine Thought operating in mat- 
ter; the Manifested Deity. 

Lustration (Lat. lustratid), sym- 
bolic purification, commonly by sprin- 
kling or washing with water, but also 
by fumigating (usually with sulphur), 
passing through fire, etc. 

Macrocosm (Gk. makrokosmos), 

the great world, as distinguished from 
man, the microcosm or "little world." 

Magna Mater (Lat.). "the Great 
Mother," an appellation of Rhea, As- 
tarte, and other Goddesses. 

Manipuraka (Sk.), the third of the 
force-centres in the human body, the 
epigastric plexus. 

Manteia (Gk.), a state of ecstatic 
trance. 

Mantis (Gk.), a seer. 

Mantrika-shakti (Sk.), the occult 
power of speech or sound. 

Messiah (Heb. Mashiach, "Anoint- 
ed"), the same as Christos; an initi- 
ated hierophant, or divine teacher. 



GLOSSARY 



817 



Microcosm (Gk. mikrokosmos), a 
little world or universe ; man as an 
epitome of the macrocosm or great 
universe. 

Muladhara (Sk.), the first of the 
force-centres in the human body, the 
sacral plexus. 

Mysteries (Gk. mysteria, from 
myein, "to close"), secret truths; the 
rites and ceremonies of initiation in 
the esoteric religion. 

Mystic (Gk. mystikos, from mystes, 
"an initiate in the Mysteries"), occult, 
secret; incomprehensible to the lower 
reasoning faculty. 

Mythos (Gk.), a myth; a fanciful 
story containing a hidden meaning. 

Nadi (Sk.), a tube; a current of 
force in the human body. 

Neophyte (Gk. neophytos, "newly 
planted"), one newly consecrated; a 
candidate for initiation. 

Noetic. (See Nous.) 

Nous (Gk.), the mind, especially the 
spiritual, immortal mind, as distin- 
guished from the psychic, mortal mind, 
phren. 

Oannes (Gk.), the primeval Fish- 
God_of Lower Babylonia; also called 
Dagon. He was represented as a form 
compounded of a man and a fish. It 
was said that he was wont to spend the 
day among men, teaching; but that at 
night he retired into the sea, or "great 
deep" : this was but an allegorical way 
of stating the fact that a seer can at 
will transfer his consciousness from 
the objective to the subjective plane, so 
that while his body is asleep his sub- 
jective self is energizing consciously 
in the psychic and spiritual worlds. 
The spxead of Christianity in regions 
where Oannes had formerly been wor- 
shipped was undoubtedly aided by the 
similarity (amounting to practically 
the identity) of the name to Ioannes; 
and there were sects that accepted 
Ioannes "the Baptist" and yet rejected 
Iesous. 

Om (Sk.), a contracted form of 
Audi, a sacred mystical s} r llable repre- 
senting the Hindu Trinity. It is used 
occultly to arouse the kundalini 



through the correlation between sound 
and the vital electricity. 

Orcus (Lat), the underworld, the 
abode of the dead. It is equivalent to 
the Greek Hades. 

Palaestra (Gk. palaistra), a wres- 
tling-school, or gymnasium. 

Paradosis (Gk.), a handing over, 
transmission, tradition ; a particular 
rite, the passing from hand to hand of 
the sacred symbolic objects used in the 
Eleusinian Mysteries. 

Parakletos (Gk.), advocate, helper; 
a term applied to the kundalini, the re- 
generative force. 

Paranatellon (Gk. para, "alongside 
of," and anatellon, "rising"), in ancient 
astronomy, a constellation lying north 
or south of the zodiac and allotted to 
one of the decans. The paranatellons 
were thirty-six in number. 

Para-shakti (Sk.), the "great 
power," which includes the forces of 
light and heat. 

Patera (Lat.), a libation-saucer, the 
same as the Greek phial e. 

Periscope (from Gk. periskopein, 
"to consider on all sides"), a general, 
comprehensive summary; a term inap- 
propriately applied to Luke ix. 51-xviii. 
14. 

Persephone (Gk.), the daughter of 
Zeus and Demeter, and wife of Plou- 
ton, with whom she reigned over the 
netherworld. Latin, Proserpina. 

Phren (Gk.), the heart and cardiac 
region; the lower mental faculties. 

Pingala (Sk.), the current of the 
kundalini which flows on the right side 
of the human body. 

Pisces (Lat.; Gk. Ichthyes), the 
Fishes, (1) one of the zodiacal con- 
stellations; (2) the eleventh sign of 
the zodiac. Owing to the precession of 
the equinoxes this sign now contains 
the constellation Aquarius. 

Plouton (Gk.), the God of the Neth- 
erworld. He was the son of Kronos 
and Rhea, and the husband of Per- 
sephone. The name being confounded 
with ploutos, "wealth," he was also re- 
garded as the God of Riches. He was 
also called Hades. Latin. Pluto. 



8i8 



THE RESTORED NEW TESTAMENT 



Pneuma (Gk.), wind, air; the breath 
of life ; the spiritual principle. 

Poseidon (Gk.), the God of the 
Sea; Guardian of the zodiacal sign 
Pisces. He was the son of Kronos 
and Rhea. Latin, Neptunus, Neptune. 

Prana (Sk.), the life-principle, the 
solar aether ; mystically, a "ray" sent 
forth by the Sun, or spiritual Mind : 
in this latter sense there are five pra- 
nas, or intellectual powers, of which 
one is termed specifically prana, "the 
outgoing life." 

Prithivi (Sk.), the subtile element 
earth. 

Procrustean, reducing to strict con- 
formity by violent measures. The 
word is derived from Prokroustes, 
"Torturer," the appellation given to 
Damastes, a robber near Eleusis who, 
it is said, compelled travellers to lie 
down on a couch and in order to make 
them conform to its length either 
stretched them out or lopped off 
enough of their limbs to make them fit 
it. 

Pyrotechnist (Gk. pyr, "fire," and 
technites, "artificer," "artist"), a term 
applied by mediaeval "fire-philosophers" 
to one skilled in the use of the occult 
"fires," the psychic and spiritual forces. 

Rhea (Gk., from rhein, "to flow"), 
a Goddess, the daughter of Heaven 
and Earth, and wife of Kronos. She 
was identified with Amma ("Mother"), 
the Great Mother Goddess of Western 
Asia, and with the Phrygian Kybele; 
and was usually represented wearing a 
mural crown. 

Sagittarius (Lat. ; Gk. Toxotes), 
the Archer, or Bowman, (i) one of 
the zodiacal constellations; (2) the 
ninth sign of the zodiac. Owing to the 
precession of the equinoxes this sign 
now contains the constellation Scorpio. 

Sahasrara (Sk.), the seventh of the 
force-centres in the human body, the 
conarium. 

Sakaia (Gk.), a festival of the Sacae 
in honor of Anaitis, a Goddess identi- 
fied with Venus. According to Bero- 
sos, the five-day feast of the Sakaia 
was celebrated by the Babylonians, and 
during the celebration it was the cus- 
tom that masters should obey their ser- 



vants, one of whom was clothed in a 
royal robe. 

Samadhi (Sk.), a state of ecstatic 
trance, or of abstract meditation. 

Samana (Sk.), the distributing life, 
one of the five pranas. 

Satan (Heb.), an enemy, adversary; 
in Christian theology, the Evil God, as 
opposed to Yahveh ("Jehovah"), the 
Good God, though ethically there is 
little to choose between the two Gods 
as depicted in Jewish-Christian myth- 
ology. 

Scorpio (Lat.; Gk. Skorpios), the 
Scorpion, (1) one of the zodiacal con- 
stellations; (2) the eighth sign of the 
zodiac. Owing to the precession of 
the equinoxes this sign now contains 
the constellation Libra. 

Selene (Gk.), the moon; the God- 
dess of the Moon. 

Serapis, a Graeco-Egyptian God. 

Shakti (Sk.), power, ability; a crea- 
tive force. 

Somatic (Gk. somatikos, "pertaining 
to the body"), corporeal, bodily. 

Speirema (Gk.), a coil, especially a 
serpent-coil; the same as the Sanskrit 
kundalinl. 

Sushumna (Sk.), the central cur- 
rent of the kundalinl. It flows in the 
centre of the spinal cord. 

Synoptic (Gk. synoptikos, "seeing 
the whole together"), a term applied 
to the first three Gospels. 

Talmud, a Hebrew work in which 
the oral traditions are committed to 
writing. 

Tartaros (Gk. ; Lat. Tartarus), the 
netherworld, especially as the abode of 
impure souls. 

Tattvas (Sk.), the subtile elements; 
differentiated principles in nature and 
in man. 

Taurus (Lat.; Gk. Tauros), the 
Bull, (1) one of the zodiacal constel- 
lations; (2) the second sign of the 
zodiac. Owing to the precession of 
the equinoxes this sign now contains 
the constellation Aries. 

Tejas (Sk.), the subtile element fire. 

Telestic (Gk. telestikos), mystical, 
pertaining to initiation. 



GLOSSARY 



819 



Thesmophoria (Gk.), a festival in 
honor of Demeter, who was called 
Thesmophoros, "Law-giving," because 
she was said to have instituted mar- 
riage and civil institutions. The festi- 
val lasted three days, and was cele- 
brated by many cities of Greece, but 
with greatest ceremony at Athens. 
Both Demeter and Persephone were 
worshipped in the rites. The worship- 
pers were free-born matrons, assisted 
by a priest and a band of virgins. They 
wore white garments, as emblematic of 
purity. 

Thuja (Gk. thuia), a North-African 
tree with sweet-smelling wood. 

Udana (Sk.), the upgoing life, one 
of the five pranas. 

Upanishads (Sk.), ancient mystical 
writings appended to the Vedas. 



Vayu (Sk.), the subtile element air. 

Virgo (Lat. ; Gk. Parthenos), the 
Virgin, (1) one of the zodiacal con- 
stellations ; (2) the sixth sign of the 
zodiac. Owing to the precession of 
the equinoxes this sign now contains 
the constellation Leo. 

Vishuddhi (Sk.), the fifth of the 
force-centres in the human body, the 
pharyngeal plexus. 

Vyana (Sk.), the uniting life, one of 
the five pranas. 

Zeus (Gk.), the King and Father of 
Gods and Men; Guardian of the zo- 
diacal sign Leo, and Regent of the 
planet Jupiter. He was the son of 
Kronos and Rhea. Although the high- 
est of the Gods, he has many minor 
aspects. Latin, Jupiter. 




■.: 



o2U 






